The Seven Go to Hogwarts
by RedGods
Summary: The seven of the prophecy, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper Mclean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and Leo Valdez have been assigned a new mission from Chiron. Ship off to a British boarding school called Hogwarts. Their goal? Protect Harry Potter from Lord Voldemort. But when a new ally for Lord Voldemort emerges, how will The Seven and the Golden Trio cope?
1. Camp Half-Blood

**The Seven's Mission: Hogwarts**

 **The seven of the prophecy, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper Mclean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and Leo Valdez have been assigned a new mission from Chiron. Ship off to a British boarding school called Hogwarts. Their goal? Protect Harry Potter from Lord Voldemort. But when a new ally for Lord Voldemort emerges, how will The Seven and the Golden Trio cope? Set after the Giant War and during Order of the Phoenix**

 **Chapter 1: Percy**

Camp Half Blood's reconstruction was almost completed. Two months after the defeat of Gaia, we were about to complete the repairs for the obscene amount of damage caused by Gaia and that monstrous army conjured by Octavian. I was lounging beside the canoe lake staring into nothingness. The Argo II's voyage was extremely draining and the adventures were nothing short of terrifying, but my friends had persevered through everything. Annabeth and I were still plagued by nightmares of what happened in that pit. After we returned there was barely a night where we weren't screaming in fear. However, in two months, the intensity and the duration of these scenes were far less common. The two of us had spent an entire week without these plaguing horrors. I still slept with her for the fear of another one and we were the only reason we were able to cope, was the fact that we were together. I closed my eyes and dived into the lake. The lake was always a place I could go to clear my head, and gather my thoughts. I swam past the naiads and waved to all of them. The only problem was that several were attempting to flirt with me. Many more flirtatious remarks that made me immediately propel myself upwards and onto the bank of the lake. It didn't matter how many times I mentioned my wonderful Annabeth, they would still try to flirt.

"Why do all the naiads try to flirt with me," I sighed. "I love swimming, but this is seriously off-putting." Abruptly, I heard a branch snap behind me in the woods. My hand instantly sprung to my pocket and grabbed out my ballpoint pen – Riptide. I uncapped it and a three foot long celestial bronze sword sprung into my hand. The woods were home to many creatures and my first thought was hellhound. However, wasn't expecting my beautiful girlfriend – Annabeth to emerge from the foliage.

"Seaweed Brain, drop the sword, I'm not going to attack you." She scolded

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, "I didn't know my Wise Girl was coming to look for me." I said, grinning. She walked over and slapped by arm.

"Just sit with me, I want to talk." Annabeth said

"What do you want to talk with me about Wise Girl? My amazing personality?" I said. Annabeth obviously rolled her eyes

"No, that would be a very one-dimensional conversation. I Just, the uhh… reconstruction of camp and how proud and happy I am about the current situation."

"Yeah, it is quite incredible that we managed to rebuild so quickly after Queen Dirt Face trashed the camp." I said, cracking a grin.

"Shut up Seaweed Brain, just hold me for a while," she said, with a smile dancing on her face.

"Alright."

We just sat next to each other for a while, enjoying each others warmth. At one point I must've nodded off on Annabeth's shoulder because I awoke, feeling groggy, to the sound of a male voice.

"Ooooohh, Lovebirds, Chiron wants you at the Big House!" shouted the voice.

"Who the hell?" I wondered out loud. I spun around quickly along with Annabeth towards the sound of the voice. Atop a hill, Flaming Valdez in all his glory was grinning his maniacal grin at disrupting our session.

"I'm going to kill you Leo!" Annabeth screamed from beside me, glaring at Leo. He trotted down the hill right in front of us, while we both glared at him. Leo, who was scared to death by Annabeth probably would've usually run the opposite direction by now, but this message must've been seriously important as he stood resolutely in front of us.

"What do you want Leo?" I grumbled.

"Oh guys, why the long faces. Come on, Chiron has an important announcement for The Seven. He wants us at the Big House NOW!" He shouted the last word.

"Yeah, we're coming Valdez, just give us a minute." I said. Leo spread his hands and continued to grin

"That's all you had to say," and he ran off without another word.

"Wise Girl, are you okay?" I said, my voice quiet with concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine Seaweed Brain, let's go up to the Big House." I planted a kiss on her forehead and stretched by arm out.

"I shall escort you milady," I said in an extremely pompous British voice. Annabeth rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Okay then Prince Charming." She said as she lightly slapped my arm. I grinned and walked her up the hill. We decided to take the scenic route and view the fruits of our labour by seeing all the cabins, newly refurbished and all the repairs winding down. The Demeter cabin's plants all around the garden were glistening in the sunlight. Katie Gardener along with some of her siblings were tending to the ivy plants that cascaded down the cabin windows. I went to talk to Katie while Annabeth decided to check the Apollo Cabin.

"Hey Katie," I shouted. "How are all the plants coming along."

"They're doing fine Percy, why do you ask?"

"I'm pretty sure Travis said that he was putting a specific pesticide in the flower patch that may have some unintended side-effects. To put it mildly."

"She screamed and marched off towards the Hermes cabin, muttering curses under her mouth." I caught a few from the distance.

"Stupid Travis Stoll, Dumb Hermes, Idiotic…" the rest was lost in the wind as I watched with a bemused expression. Annabeth ran towards me and pointed her finger towards a formidable looking Clarisse walking towards me.

"Prissy, how are you doing," she bellowed.

"Jeez, Clarisse, I'm doing well… okay." I was going to say fine, but I really wasn't. Annabeth in me were probably never going to be fine again. Clarisse, probably saw my expression and our broken eyes and apologized and went on her way. While both of us hadn't had nightmares in a week, we were still extremely damaged. Annabeth started shaking like mad and tears threatened to cascade down both our cheeks.

"Hey Wise Girl, I'm here, you are never getting away from me again" I murmured

"Percy, I know, I almost had a stupid flashback," she said in a broken voice. I stood there and held her for a while and planted a kiss on the bridge of her nose.

"Come on, the rest of the seven will wonder where we are," I said

"Yeah, we're not going to a stupid flashback stop us," she said smiling slightly.

The rest of the walk was quite uneventful unless you counted Travis and Connor messing up repairs by absolutely tormenting the Ares Cabin and as a result, a mob of about six Ares Cabin members were charging after them. Once we reached the front of the Big House, I pushed open the door and we walked in nervously. Annabeth felt the exact same way and her stormy gray eyes were swirling with worry. I brushed apart her hair and muttered

"we'll be fine Annabeth, Chiron's just going to talk to us." I said, trying to believe it myself. We walked in and saw Chiron, Mr D. and the rest of the seven were standing around the round table in the centre. It was Mr D. who broke the silence.

"Wow, you're finally here Peter Johnson and Anniebelle Chance, Chiron here has an important announcement to make. I'll be on my way now," and just like that our Camp Director walked out the door. I raised an eyebrow at Chiron, silently asking

 _What was that?_ He had an excellent poker face and simply said

"Gather 'round children, I have a very important quest for you."

 **Ta Daa! That was the first chapter of my first ever Fan Fiction piece! Please tell me if it's good, I'm attempting to write quite a bit as it's holidays, Hooray! Anyways, please review my story and tell me what you would like to see. I'll see if I can make it any longer in the future.**

 **But until then,**

 **I'm out**

 **~RedGods**


	2. Camp Half Blood - Frank

**Chapter 2: Frank**

Repairing Camp-Half Blood was a long and painful process. I was continually called back to Camp Jupiter to carry out my duties as praetor too. This made the repairs go slower as barely any Romans could help with the reconstruction and the absence of my shape-shifting abilities also slowed down the process. Now? I was a gorilla. Using my maneuverable limbs and my strength to easily lift wood and stone to help repair the Hephaestus cabin. I had just put one of the last stones in place when I heard three familiar voices behind me. My amazing girlfriend Hazel was grinning up at me (as a gorilla), Jason and Piper had their hands around each others waist but were still smiling up at me. I was so excited I forgot that I was ten feet above the ground and automatically changed back into myself. The result? I think you can guess what happened. Yeah. I fell straight down on my face. Stupid Frank, you're still clumsy.

"Urgggg." I groaned as I heaved myself to face my friends. Their grins instantly melted into an expression of concern. Hazel immediately sprinted over, her golden eyes paled with shock and she looked extremely worried.

"Frank, are you okay?" She whispered, after giving me a short kiss.

"I think so, I doubt anything is broken," I said, my voice laced with pain

"You should sit down for a while," Piper said, charmspeaking me to compel her order

"Yeah I think I should," I grunted. I plopped down on the spot and Hazel sat to my left, while Piper and Jason sat to my right.

"How has it been making shrines to all the gods, Pontifex," I said, giving Jason a look of admiration. He started smiling and said

"It's been a long and tiring process and I still have hundreds of shrines to go, but I'm proud of what I've done."

"Is Kym being honoured now, and did you follow up on that action figure promise?" I asked inquiringly. Jason immediately looked sheepish.

"Well, she was the first shrine I built, but I haven't got around to getting the action figure. Funnily enough I had a dream about her yesterday and she thanked me for giving her, her shrine." He said with a look of superiority. " That's enough about me, how has it been at Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter?

"We've spent the best part of these two months repairing all the damaging Gaia did to camp, we're almost done," Piper said, matter of factly.

"Hazel, Frank, how is Camp Jupiter?" Jason asked.

"It's mostly the same, War Games, sentry duty and everything else. Only difference is that some campers from Camp Half-Blood sometimes come over." Hazel replied from next to me. Jason nodded his head.

"GUYS! I MISSED YOU!" I saw a scrawny boy with an impish grin staring down at us. Leo Valdez ran towards us and engulfed us in a hug. All of us stood up, and embraced Leo aswell.

"We missed you too Leo!" we all echoed. After Leo went back to Ogygia and rescued Calypso, they wandered about looking for Camp for about two months, he had only returned two days ago, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth had all punched him and murdered him for scaring them, but Hazel, Jason, and I hadn't met him yet.

"Don't you ever dare scare us like that again Leo!" Hazel screamed.

"If you disappear again I'm going to kill you Leo!" Jason shouted.

"Valdez, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll transform into a rhinoceros and send you into the canoe lake!" I shouted. Leo just stood there grinning at all the attention he was getting.

"Oh guys, I know you really love me. By the way, Chiron wants you all at the Big House.

"Oh no, we just finished the war with Gaia, if we go on another round the world trip…" There was no need to finish my sentence, it was implied that I would be severely annoyed.

"Anyway I need to find Percy and Annabeth. They're probably in the same bed, sleeping…" Leo said. Without another word, he ran off towards the Poseidon Cabin.

"We should probably go to the Big House." I muttered. The others nodded in agreement. Jason smiled and shouted

"Race you to the Big House!" he shouted. The Big House was about half a mile away (800m) and we started to run without doubt. Jason decided it would be fun to cheat and summoned the winds to whisk him away at breakneck speed. Piper's choppy brown hair was swinging around her face and she shouted

"Get back here you cheater!" She poured charmspeak into her voice and Jason hesitated then shouted in return

"You can't charmspeak me Pipes!" Piper snarled in anger and if Jason was cheating, I was like why the hell not and shifted into an eagle. I don't know why, it was just the first bird that was quite fast that came to my mind. I soared above the ground and caught up to Jason. We were cruising and he decided to mess with me

"Catch this Zhang!" He shouted and sent a gust of wind that knocked me off course. I regained altitude and completed the race in second, just behind Jason. Piper and Hazel were neck and neck running towards us. Just before they both finished, Hazel summoned a huge bar of gold and tripped Piper up. She finished third and Piper, grumbling came in last place. I gave Hazel a short kiss on the lips. Jason picked Piper up and followed my example. After a minute we decided we might as well go into the Big House. As we entered the main room, we saw Chiron and Mr D. huddled around the big centre table.

"Ah, John Green, Penelope Maclown, Fred Zhong, and Holly Levescruel **(These nicknames are horrible I know.)** you finally decided to turn up. We realised that it was long past that we could correct him about pronouncing our names wrong. We knew he did it on purpose.

"Well don't you have something to do?" Piper said. Mr D.'s eyes flickered with annoyance.

"I would love to leave you alone and do my own thing, but I have to wait Leonard, Peter and Anniebelle." He said, with a bored voice.

As if on cue, Leo walked through the door, his hands and face caked with soot, grinning is mischevious grin.

"Hello guys, Bad Boy Supreme is in da house!" He bellowed.

"Oh Leonardo Valdox…" Mr D. muttered. Leo didn't dare joke at Mr D. as he didn't want to be a dolphin.

"What are we waiting for?" Leo whispered, in a secretive tone.

"We are waiting for Percy and Annabeth." Chiron replied.

We waited in silence for ten minutes… Atleast, we did. Leo of course, didn't. Leo got extremely bored and started tinkering with his tool belt, creating minature cars that zoomed about the room. Even though we were all ADHD except for me of course, Leo was the most ADHD demigod ever and they ended up fidgeting in the first thirty seconds. Overall, it was a relief when Annabeth and Percy walked through those doors, looking quite nervous. I saw Leo stop fidgeting and we engaged in an awkward silence. The tense silence was broken by Mr D.

"Wow, you're finally here Peter Johnson and Anniebelle Chance, Chiron here has an important announcement to make. I'll be on my way now," and just like that our Camp Director walked out the door. Percy raised his eyebrow at Chiron, but his face was impassive.

"Gather 'round children, I have a very important quest for you"

 **This chapter was more a filler and I really wanted to develop the relationship between Frank, Jason Piper and Hazel. Next chapter I promise will be Leo as I really haven't developed him much and we will find out the details of the quest!**

 **~RedGods**


	3. The Quest

**Chapter 3: Leo**

 **Last Time**

" _ **Wow, you're finally here Peter Johnson and Anniebelle Chance, Chiron here has an important announcement to make. I'll be on my way now," and just like that our Camp Director walked out the door. Percy raised his eyebrow at Chiron, but his face was impassive.**_

" _ **Gather 'round children, I have a very important quest for you"**_

"Gee Chiron what's the quest," I muttered. Annabeth glared at me then responded

"Go on Chiron." He nodded and continued his speech

"My good friend Albus Dumbeldore h-," after he said this I immediately collapsed and was overwhelmed by hysterical fit of laughter. I was left gasping for breath and I saw everyone else snicker, but I was the only one on the ground.

"Albus Dumblydooooooor" I choked out and then remaining on the floor, thrashing around laughing uncontrollably. It must've been atleast five minutes of me flailing around the floor because everyone else was staring at me edgily. Percy was the one who stopped me. He coughed loudly and said

"Leo, when you're ready to actually listen and stop flailing around and actually listen to Chiron, please stand up." I knew that when Percy was being serious and not joking around too much, this was serious, so I stopped laughing and stood up

"Sorry," I apologized

"As I was saying before Mr. Valdez interrupted me, my good friend Albus Dumbledore contacted me and asked for some of the best demigods available to come to his school and protect one student, Harry Potter."

"I understand Chiron, but why does this Dumbledore want seven of the best demigods to protect one student?" Said Annabeth.

"Mr. Potter is a student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." There was no containing anyone's laughter this time, Annabeth, Percy, Frank, Jason and I dropped immediately to the floor and was repossessed by violent fits of laughter. Hazel and Piper were staring at us with a blank expression on their faces.

"Pig's skin with warts!" Percy choked out. Annabeth's fist was on the ground in laughter

"DEFORMED PIG'S SKIN!" Jason and Frank echoed.

"You expect us to believe that wiazards and witches exist!" shouted Annabeth. However, I think that I laughed the hardest. I doubled up with laughter and laughed so hard that I uncontrollably burst into flame. Frank jumped back about a mile and everyone else stopped laughing instantly. Chiron stomped his hooves in anger and said

"Please stop interrupting me. Before you came to camp you believed the Greek Gods were myths right? Well, why can't wizards and witches? Hogwarts was founded around one thousand years ago by the first four children of Hecate. They had superior magical abilities and were called pure bloods. Half-Bloods (not demigods) are when a wizard has a known muggle or muggle born parents or granparents. Muggle borns are regular people who are blessed by Hecate to develop magical abilities. In short they come from non-magical families. Hogwarts is a school of magic. Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster and wants you seven to protect Harry Potter, the subject of a prophecy. Mr. Potter's parents were killed when he was one year old by a dark wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. Harry somehow survived and the Dark Lord lost his powers, but didn't die. Now last year, Mr. Potter was entered in the Triwizard Tournament where he was transported to the graveyard and his blood was used to restore Voldemort's body. However, the whole wizarding world except the teachers at Hogwarts and his good friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley think that he is lying. Dumbledore believes that Voldemort will attempt to kill Harry Potter and he wants you seven to help guard and prevent Mr. Potter from harm."

"Chiron, where exactly is this school?" Hazel inquired.

"It is in Britain and in exactly one week you all will pack and fly over there…"

"But me and Hazel can't fly!" interrupted Percy.

"I have patched it all with Zeus Percy. You seven will go on a plane to Britain where you will go to the Headquarters of the order of the Phoenix where you will remain until the school year begins. There are many precautions you must take though. For one, Hecate will bless you with magic as you sleep which isn't bad. However, you must be transported back into you fifteen year old bodies."

At these words there was an outbreak of muttering and Piper broke it and everyone listened.

"Chiron, how long will this quest take? I don't want to spend that long in my fifteen year old body when I'm clearly not." She said in a huff

"About one year."

"Okay, but how will we get all our stuff?"

"First, you have the cover name for camp, _Mr. Brunners Academy for the Magically Gifted._ After you go to Grimmauld Place you will take a wand from Diagon Alley and get all your school supplies there. You have one week to spend researching and learning everything you can about the wizarding world from books." Almost everyone groaned but Annabeth jumped up and down at this prospect.

"Chiron, how many books will we have to read?" She asked.

"As many as necessary."

"Oh Wise Girl, you need to help me," Percy asked imploringly.

"I assume you accept the quest?" Chiron inquired

"Yes, it's a lot to take in but we need to help protect this Harry Potter," Jason replied

"Okay then, you all have one week and then you go off to the airport and you're off to London." Chiron ushered us out of the Big House and told us that when we woke up tomorrow we would have magical abilities and that books that we wanted would appear in our cabin once we needed them.

"See you all tomorrow!" I said to the rest of the group.

"Guys, come to my cabin at around midday," Percy said.

"We'll change cabins everyday, that will take up the entire week," Piper agreed.

"Well, see you all soon!" I muttered as I ran back towards the Hephaestus Cabin.

Next week was going to be really cool.

 **Boom! Chapter 3. I know it was really terrible but I was in a bit of a rush to get this done. Anyway please can we get some reviews to tell me how I can progress this story and I would love to get some feedback anyways.**

 **~RedGods**


	4. Practice and The Mist

**Chapter 4: Annabeth**

 **Disclaimer, I'm not going to go on and write a whole chapter on each day as I want to progress the plot and get to the Harry Potter part. I'll just do highlights from each person's POV of each day.**

Demigod sleep absolutely sucks. The day overall was quite good. I went to the canoe lake with Percy and we got a neat quest. We found out there were wizards and witches that just walk around like normal people. We had exactly one week before we packed off to England and then went to a school in Scotland named after a deformed pig's skin. Then we had to protect a kid called Harry Potter from a dark wizard who is called Lord Voldemort and since everyone is too scared to say Voldemort, they call him He Who Must Not Be Named, (which is stupid already) or You Know Who. Actually I don't know who. Gosh, I'm ranting like Percy now. Yeah, it's as crazy as it sounds.

With all that nice information to digest I went to Percy's cabin and curled up next to him.

"Goodnight Wise Girl," he murmured in my ear.

"You too Seaweed Brain," I murmured back.

I was told we were going to be blessed with magic as we slept and I wasn't ready for it. Turns out being blessed with magic and also being a demigod amplify your dreams tenfold. It was not a fun experience. We had kept a streak of one whole week without any nightmares of Tartarus, but I couldn't hold back the memories anymore. I slipped into another torturous flashback of Tartarus.

 _ ***FLASHBACK***_ _  
"Percy!" My voice cracked. "Why did you leave me? I heard a ringing voice of my Percy, coming from far away._

" _I didn't" Percy abandoned me and white smoke clouded my vision. I couldn't see but I was left with one sinking feeling. Percy and I had been through so much, but he had still abandoned me. I had to find him._

" _Percy, Percy where are you? Percy!" I shouted. I continued to shout for ages and I collapsed on the floor crying. "PERCY!" I screamed in desperation. Two pairs of strong hands grasped me from behind and the thing put a forefinger to my forehead. A voice echoed_

" _Owie!" I said lightly. Suddenly, my vision cleared and I looked up. I saw Bob and turned around to see a bloodied and bruised Percy._

" _PERCY!" I screamed. Percy was dying, I could feel it._

" _Bob, heal Percy I ordered!"_

" _No, he betrayed me," he said lightly. I watched helplessly as Percy was impaled by Bob's broomstick._

" _NO!" I screamed. I screamed and screamed as I held Percy's lifeless body._

 _ ***END FLASHBACK*(I know I'm evil and I know that didn't happen. I just felt like that would be a heart-wrenching moment for Annabeth.)**_

 **Percy:**

I awoke to a terrible, ear-splitting sound. Annabeth screamed

"PERCY!"

"Bob heal Percy!" After a pause of about 5 seconds, she screamed again

"NO PERCY!" She screamed my name over and over. I held her close to me.

"Annabeth, I'm right here, you are never getting away from me again.

"Percy, Bob just killed you." She started sobbing hysterically. Tears cascaded down my cheek as I whispered into my ear

"Annabeth, it's just a nightmare, Bob is our friend he would never hurt us at all. He is loyal, I'm right here. Bob would never do a thing. It's just a nightmare." I said soothingly. After many minutes and many tears on both our parts. She stopped shaking and I calmed her down

"I'm sorry Seaweed Brain. So much for a whole week without nightmares." She laughed softly.

"It's alright Annabeth, I'm right here and no one's ever going to separate us ever again." I whispered as I pushed her into a kiss. After what felt like an hour or two, we broke apart. She laughed her mirthful laugh and replied

"We really should get to sleep."

"I agree, we can go back to kissing and doing whatever else we want in the morning, with all our new magic powers. Preferably after some blue pancakes." She muttered something that sounded like

"Stupid Percy." Within a matter of minutes she had slipped back into her sleep. I felt myself dozing off and I wandered the realm of Hypnos again. It felt that only a matter of seconds I was being shaken awake by Annabeth.

"Percy! Wake up Seaweed Brain!"

"Five more minutes," I groaned

"There are blue pancakes," she whispered in my ear. That did it, I bolted up immediately.

"What's the time Wise Girl?"

"It's about 9:30, why?"

"Aren't the rest of the seven coming at noon?"

"Annabeth's eyes opened with alertness."

"Oh yeah. We have about two hours to make this mess of a cabin acceptable while having breakfast." She said all this extremely quickly and I barely heard it. I was told we were blessed with magic yesterday, however, Chiron said we wouldn't be able to do magic until we got our wands. He also said that we had one week to study all the subjects we were taking and become reasonable adept so we could actually pass as wizards.

We were told that we took the same seven core subjects and we had to take at least two more. We all had to take Divination and Care of Magical Creature as that was what the 'Golden Trio' were taking. However, I had a feeling that most of us were going to take Ancient Runes, understanding ancient Greek and all. Annabeth and I made ourselves look acceptable and we marched out of the Poseidon at about 10:00. What took us half an hour to get properly dressed? I'll leave that to your imagination.

We rocked up to breakfast and had our fill, sacrificing our food to Hecate and our godly parents. I marched off to the Poseidon table while Annabeth wandered off to the Athena table. I glanced over at the Zeus table and saw Jason and I looked at their respective tables and saw each member of The Seven. I quickly finished my blue food with gusto and rushed off with Annabeth to the Poseidon Cabin. We had an hour to clean up my cabin and not let it look like a hurricane had come through (They might blame me). We cleared up the bed and the surrounding bunks until they looked acceptable. I polished the water fountain and straightened my Minotaur Horn. When they eventually rocked up they opened the door and jumped straight in unannounced. But it didn't bother me.

"Hey guys! You ready to learn some magic!" I said dramatically.

"Seaweed Brain, you would probably blow up the school if we gave you a want right now." Annabeth replied.

"Yeah Seaweed Brain, don't blow stuff up. That's my job." Leo said sarcastically. I turned towards him and shot him a glare that would make Thunderpants back into a corner and run to his mum. Leo paled and backed into Piper, who glared at him.

"Leo, no one calls me Seaweed Brain except Annabeth." I threatened.

"Chill Perce, it was just a joke."

"If you guys are done arguing, we need to start learning some magic stuff." Hazel interrupted.

"Oh shut up Misty-magicky Hazel, you practically know magic already. Leo said. Things escalated from there and Leo and Hazel got into a full on fight. Jason finally interfered and thunder exploded outside, calming the two down.

"Where are we going to learn magic from?" Piper asked worriedly.

I looked at Annabeth and she shrugged

"I dunno, maybe if we say, _Oh Hecate please give us some books so we can learn magic!_ ". I laughed after this but then paled as a huge pile of books appeared on each of the beds.

"Yeah, that's exactly what you needed to say Seaweed Brain," said Annabeth, smirking.

The rest of the day passed as a blur, we learnt a lot about Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures and it turned out that basically everyone knew about Astronomy and the constellations. Everyone except Piper was competent at Care of Magical Creatures. We touched up on Charms and Leo made fun of her non-stop that due to her charmspeak, she wouldn't be able to get a question wrong. Turns out he was right as and Piper absolutely aced this topic. Jason was also really amazing and Annabeth, who was basically perfect at everything was amazing as well. Me? I did okay, but half the time I hadn't got a clue what they were on about. We ended up stopping there and we all agreed to meet in the Athena Cabin next and Annabeth promised to shoo everyone out.

 **Annabeth:**

Yesterday was really fun. I absolutely adored all these magical subjects and I thought I was very good at Charms and competent with everything else. When I showed Percy what I got wrong, he grumbled and said that it was illegal for me to complain when I got such good results on that mini quiz we did. Today we were hanging out in my cabin and we were going to do a lot more magical studies.

We met up at noon again and we started to learn Divination, Herbology and History of Magic. Divination it turns out, was very imprecise though it turned out it was quite similar to what Rachel, our Oracle did. It was all about predicting the future. No one except me really managed to grasp the subject. Hazel and Piper complained non stop about how complex the subject was and how there was no need for us to learn it when we had Rachel to do all this stuff. Percy got so irritated at their constant speech he went up to Rachel's new pad and fetched her to shut them up. They got even more annoyed when Rachel, almost lazily answered all the questions. After she got a perfect score on the mini-quiz she made an excuse and dashed off to her cave. Herbology as it turns out, wasn't so bad. Frank and Hazel were actually quite good but no one else really shined. They said it was from sentry duty and how they spent hours just watching the plants and learning to identify them. However, they were stumped and started doing poorly when they started talking about the Venemous Tentacula and the Mandrake. I still paid attention and did well. History of Magic as it turns out, has to be the most boring subject of all wizard-kind. The books were packed about long droning passages about Giant Wars and Goblin Rebellions. Percy and Jason's eyes were glazed over and they were staring dreamily off into space. Leo however, was paying rapt attention and actually seemed to find the subject remotely interesting. He actually sat still and managed to read almost the entire book, and he was dyslexic so it was an accomplishment. We decided to call it quits after that and decided to meet up at the Zeus Cabin next as it would be completely empty.

 **Jason:**

Yesterday was quite uneventful. We had to read books upon books droning on and on about Giant Wars and Goblin Rebellions and nothing that was remotely interesting. Herbology was fairly cool but they lost me on all the names of the plants. Divination was also extremely boring and I ended up completely messing up Percy's life line and ended up saying that he should've died Last Tuesday. To my surprise, he laughed and replied

"I probably would've died about 5 years ago; the Fates hate me that way."

We met up in my cabin and we decided to do Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions and Transfiguration. We read lots of Defence books and it turns out that all of us had a natural affinity for it. We all understood almost everything we were told and when we did the mini-quiz right at the end, we all did very well. Next, we did Potions. Frank and Annabeth were very good at Potions and Percy. Percy was absolutely godly at Potions. He knew literally everything in the book and absolutely aced the mini-quiz. Me? I went to pieces when trying to wrap my head around potions. I had absolutely no idea what to do. I rushed and we moved onto transfiguration. Frank was amazing given the whole shape-shifting thing and Leo was also very good. Annabeth of course, was perfect and Hazel was also decent. Percy, Piper and I weren't bad by any means, but we weren't exactly good. At the end, we decided to meet at the Aphrodite Cabin and keep progressing.

 **Piper:**

Yesterday was decent. We learnt Defence Against the Dark Arts which everyone was very good at. Potions was a scene and a half. Percy Jackson, the one who barely paid any attention to anything else actually paid attention to his book and did amazingly. I did pretty terribly and Jason and I ended up just cuddling and not paying attention. Jason, Percy and I weren't bad by any stretch of the imagination but we didn't do too well. We had covered all the subjects and left to do our own revision.

Percy and Annabeth went into a corner and started making out instead of studying. Jason and I persevered and did a lot of revision for Potions. I helped him with Charms and he helped me with Astronomy, which I found quite difficult. Leo went about just messing around and spooking Frank and Hazel, trying to get Frank to turn into an iguana. I ended up charm speaking him to calm down and do his revision. Percy and Annabeth who had finally started to do their revision decided that Percy needed the most help with Charms and Herbology and decided to revise that. Percy even gave Annabeth a few tips about potions. They were so cute! _Stop it Piper,_ I mentally chided myself, _Your inner Aphrodite is showing_. After that, the day was quite uneventful and we decided to meet up in Hazel's cabin.

 **It's at this point where things get quite boring as it's just revision and I really have no idea what to write about. I'm just going to skip to Leo (Sorry Hazel and Frank!). By the way, I'm going to clarify what everyone's good at.**

 **Percy: DADA, Potions, Ancient Runes, Kinda Care of Magical Creatures (Water Based)**

 **Annabeth: Basically Everything**

 **Jason: Astronomy, Ancient Runes and DADA (Astronomy because Sky)**

 **Piper: Charms, Ancient Runes and DADA (Charmspeak Anyone?)**

 **Hazel: DADA, Ancient Runes, Charms, Transfiguration, Astronomy (She's just good at magic because The Mist)**

 **Frank: Transfiguration, DADA, Ancient Runes and Kinda Potions (Shape-Shifter + Blood of Poseidon)**

 **Leo: DADA, Ancient Runes, History of Magic and Transfiguration (Inventor and he's just interested in History) CHAPTER COMMENCE!**

 **Leo:**

Yesterday, some creepy stuff went down. We were summoned to Olympus and Hecate said that she was going to transport us back into our fifteen-year-old bodies. Percy and Annabeth had it worst. They were being aged back two, almost three years. Hecate summoned the pure mist that swirled around their bodies and lifted them up into the air. The mist wrapped them like a thick blanket and went into their mouths. They were gently lowered towards the ground where they passed out. In about a minute they stood up and assessed their new bodies. They looked mostly the same except Annabeth and Percy were now the same height and Percy had a bit less muscle, and they both now had an odd streak of grey hair down the side of their head. Annabeth had said that they had held up the sky and the exertion had caused them to leave with some grey hair, so that's where it came from. Hecate then pointed towards Piper and Jason. The same process happened to them. When they came to they looked almost the exact same, their height had changed and Jason's hair went to a slightly darker shade of blonde as opposed to his corn-silk current hair. Hecate then gestured to us and I thought it was the freakiest thing that happened to me. The mist seemed to whisper in my ear and I now realised what Jason meant when they said that many people don't survive an encounter with Hecate. The pure mist had such a huge power that prolonged exposure would drive you insane. The mist began to enter my mouth and I passed out. After about two minutes I regained consciousness but I lost a lot of my muscle that I gained. I thought _Dammit. Just when I thought I was getting less scrawny._ I almost shrunk a lot. However, Frank went a huge transformation and went from a bulky, linebacker style look back to his original look of an oversized panda. I mean, I felt really sad as he probably was teased for his appearance a lot. Hecate gestured to Hazel and gave a little monologue.

"Hazel, my prodigy, many people wouldn't be able to survive this transformation as their body hasn't aged this far. However, your affinity for the mist will allow you to survive this forward aging process."

Hecate waved her hand and the same process happened again and when the mist cleared I thought that her appearance was quite similar. Her face and body just matured which really freaked me out. We thanked Hecate and rushed back to camp.

That was yesterday. Today, in my super ADHD opinion today was going to be amazing as it was finally the day that we would be going on the quest. Over the last few days we did so much goddamn revision that we basically knew our textbooks back to front and we were each adept at a different specific thing. We were all exceedingly nervous for a new quest, but all excited because we would finally actually do some magic. We were excellent with the theory so we thought that using magic with a stupid stick couldn't be that hard. We were all silent. I was silent. Doesn't that strike you as odd? I'm not going to lie. I was scared as hell. We were shipping off to Britain to a school named after a deformed pig's skin to study magic. I was anxious as anything. We all jumped about five feet and Frank used the old iguana trick. He turned back into a human and rushed to the door. Chiron was just outside the door with a worried expression. Children, it's time for the quest.

 **Oh my days. That was an extremely long chapter, Hope you all enjoy it. I will do this chapter of them going on the plane and arriving in Grimmauld Place, then I will do the Harry Potter part. Hope you all enjoy this Chapter. It took me like an hour or two so please review and tell me what I could improve going forward. Anyways,**

 **~RedGods**


	5. Airport Fun and Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 5:**

 **Hazel:**

The past few days were absolutely hectic. The freakiest? Being in my own body, but feeling like it wasn't my own body. Being aged up a year and being thrown into a new body but not recognizing it as my own. Everyone else was aged back a year or two but I was aged a year forward. Anyway, enough on that. Today, no one could relax whatsoever. We were all fidgeting, but everyone, including Leo were silent. We were all listening and waiting with bated breath to see when Chiron would come knocking and tell us it was time for our quest. One hour, two hours. In almost three hours, I heard the faraway sound of hooves clopping against the soil. I think I was the only one who heard it though. I then heard the rap of a hand against the cabin door. Everyone, including myself jumped. Annabeth and Percy ended up five feet away from each other and Frank. Poor Frank was the laughing stock of Leo as he turned into an Iguana.

Frank morphed back into a human and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He then ran to get the door. Chiron peered through and had an extremely worried expression on his face. He uttered the words we were all expecting.

"Children, it's time for the quest."

Everyone's face assumed a grave expression. Except of course, Leo.

"Oh yeah! We're finally going to do magic!" he shouted, at the top of his lungs. He then rushed up to Chiron and got right in his face. "When are we getting on the plane, when are we going to get wands, do you have any food, who will meet us and how will we be going?"

"Child, you are going to get on a plane in three hours and you will get your wands in Diagon Alley in a few days. No, I don't have food, you will be meeting Alastor Moody, an Ex-Auror. He stated that he would be meeting you exchange students at the airport and that he would be wearing a bowler hat, tipped low over his artificial eye and a long flowing cloak. and Argus will drive you to the airport in the Camp Van." Chiron sighed.

"Hurry up guys!" he said as he walked back to the Big House. Right after we said that we all rushed to pack all our stuff. We mainly didn't have much as our textbooks for the year would be bought in Diagon Alley. We had to take the key to our shared Gringotts vault that was installed by Hades, who filled it with money. We took enough nectar and ambrosia to last for a year. We packed all our things and loaded them into the truck. Argus, our hundred eyed security guard smiled and drove us to the airport. Our weapons had been disguised as our new beads on our Camp Necklaces. Percy couldn't even use his pen disguise as wizards used quills instead of regular pens. We checked in at the airport after we said our farewells to Argus. We didn't have any check-in baggage and we only had a few bags of carry-on. Going through the security was an absolute nightmare. Even though our weapons were disguised as beads, they even felt like beads, but Hecate couldn't change the actual metal components in our swords and knives. After about ten minutes, they decided that since they couldn't find any metal, it must be our clothes. Once we got through security we got our boarding passes and went to Terminal K12. Our flight left at 6pm and we had about 1 and a half hours to kill. Oh and by the way. Having 6 ADHD demigods (Frank's not ADHD or Dyslexic) sitting still, in an airport with nothing to do for almost two hours is a recipe for disaster. It will almost always end poorly. As it did this time. Leo ended up staying still for a solid five minutes before absolutely losing it and running about like a maniac. We decided to revise all our magical subjects for an hour because Leo was reasonably interested in a few. We spent the whole hour doing some revision from memory as our books were going to be waiting in Diagon Alley. We finally heard the boarding call from our plane and we boarded. The seats were in threes and fours, three different columns and four seats in the middle column. We were all in one row, three on the left and four in the middle. Piper, Jason and Leo were to our left while Percy, Annabeth, Frank and I were in the middle. We all ended up watching a movie and we were told our flight was about eight hours. Even though it was afternoon, Annabeth and Percy fell asleep on each other's shoulders two hours in. Frank and I persevered for five hours and through two movies before we nodded off as well.

I awoke, three hours later to the sound of the cabin crew encouraging us off the plane. Leo, who looked likehe was heavily caffeinated which indicated that he had slept had literally bounded off the plane and forgotten his bag. He scrambled back and picked it up with his signature grin dancing on his face.

"Come on guys, it's time to meet this Alastor Moody!" He shouted enthusiastically. Everyone shook their heads and rolled their eyes and I reluctantly followed him off the plane and into the airport. We sped through immigration as all our papers were ordered by Annabeth. We followed on to the baggage claim area. We didn't check anything in and we sped off to the pick-up area. I scoured around and looked for a man fitting Mr. Moody's description. We spent about five minutes looking until I found him.

"Eureka!" I shouted. I got odd looks and turned around to face my friends.

"Sorry," I muttered. "They don't say that anymore, do they?"

"Yeah they don't Hazel." Jason replied.

"That's Alastor Moody over there I think," I said gesturing to the cloaked man with a bowler hat tipped low over his head.

"I'll handle, this," Annabeth said. We walked up to Mr. Moody and Annabeth approached him.

"Uhm, are you Mr. Alastor Moody?" she asked, nervously.

"Yes, I'm Moody," he replied. "You'll be the American Exchange Students from Mr. Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted, I presume," he grunted. There was a general murmur of assent and Moody gestured in front of him and began hobbling down the road. We walked around a street corner where an old boot lay at the end of an alleyway.  
"Excuse me Moody, but why are we standing in an alleyway with an old boot?" Percy asked apprehensively.

"This boot's a portkey Jackson, and it leaves in a minute"

"What's a portkey?" Frank asked mystified. I was going to answer but Annabeth beat me to it.

"A Portkey is an object enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location. Most of the time, a Portkey is an everyday object that would not draw the attention of a Muggle." She chanted.

"Cool, so we touch it and we teleport to… what did Mr. Brunner call it? Grimmy Plack?" Percy asked.

"No, Grimmauld Place is what he said Seaweed Brain," Annabeth replied, rolling her eyes. Leo was jumping around in excitement and exclaimed.

"Guys, I think we need to touch it in the next ten seconds or we're stranded!"

"Yeah, hurry up." Moody grunted. We all held onto the boot and we were whisked away. Can I just say that it was not a pleasant experience? I was usually sea-sick, but this was something in itself. It felt like I was on a boat in the middle of an ever-lasting hurricane. When the feeling went away, it was the best feeling in the world. I immediately noticed an error though.

"Uh Moody, there is Number 11 and Number 13 Grimmauld Place but Number 12 doesn't exist." Moody chuckled

"Wait for it." As if by magic, the space between Number 11 and Number 13 lengthened and a new door appeared, labelled Number 12.

"Welcome to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, American Exchange Students.

 **Boom! Chapter 5 out of the way. I'm going to start the Harry Potter portion of this now. I'm going to skip the Dementors and the hearing, I'm just going to recount them from Harry's POV, the present day story will pick up with the Golden Trio meeting the "American Exchange Students" and suspicions arising. BTW Only Dumbledore and McGonagall know that they are truly demigods. Hope you enjoy chapter five. We hit 200 views, hooray. I don't know if it's good or bad but I'm happy.**

 **~RedGods**


	6. Harry and the Exchange Students

**Woo! 5 Chapters of PJO introductions and setting up and we are finally getting to the Harry Potter stuff! Yea! Oh and by the way, I am not J.K. Rowling nor am I Rick Riordan, if you hadn't realised yet.**

 **Chapter 6: Harry**

I probably led the weirdest life for a wizard possible. First, I end up at my Aunt and Uncle's house and my overweight, fat excuse for a cousin Dudley tries to bully me. However, I threaten him with magic and he runs off to his mummy. Then, I lose my temper with my aunt and uncle and decide to go for a walk around Little Whinging. I walk for a while and see my fat cousin, Dudley. Then, I lose my temper and take him for a walk. All along the way, he pokes fun at my family and makes fun of Cedric Diggory, he said he knew what I said in my nightmares.

"Don't kill Cedric. Don't kill Cedric!" Then he took it too far and made fun of my dead friend.

"Who's Cedric – you're boyfriend? Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me dad! Boohoo."

"Shut up." I said quietly. "Shut up, Dudely I'm warning you!

"Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to-" _Don't you point that thing at me!"_

I pulled our my wand and pushed him into the alley wall. I could feel fourteen years' hatred of Dudley pounding in my veins – what I wouldn't give to strike now, jinx Dudley so he'd have to crawl home, like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers. I really wanted to do it, but I knew I couldn't, but I didn't lower my wand. However, something else caught my attention. Dudley's face went slack and he gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water.

Suddenly, the sky went pitch black and lightless – the stars, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the soft whisper of trees had been extinguished. The hot, balmy evening was piercingly, bitterly cold. I was surrounded by an impenetrable, sudden darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding me.

I panicked, I thought that I had done magic without meaning to, even though I was attempting my best to resist. Dudley absolutely freaked out. His terrified voice broke in my ear.

"W-what are you d-doing? St-stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!"

"I c-can't see! I've go-gone blind! I – "

"I said shut up!"

The cold was so intense, goosebumps had erupting up my arms, and the hairs on the back of my neck. It was impossible. Not here in Little Whinging. I strained my ears, I would definitely hear them before I saw them. Dudley whimpered in the corner, but I glared at him and he shut up.

I fell silent, I had heard the thing that I had been dreading. I heard that terrible sound from behind me. Something drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. I spun around and a saw a cloaked Dementor. Dudley instantly panicked, he ran towards the dementor as he couldn't see it.

"You moron Dudley, DUDLEY COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING AT IT!" I screamed. I heard Dudley ear – piercing squeal and I knew that there was only one thing that was happening.

"Dudley, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! However, Dudley paid no heed to my words and opened his mouth in fear. I felt around and grabbed my wand. A towering, hooded figure was gliding towards him, no feet or face visible beneath its robes. I stumbled backwards and raised my wand.

"Expecto Patronum!" I roared. A silvery wisp shot from the tip of my wand and the dementor slowed, but the spell hadn't worked properly. I retreated further and the dementor turned it's attention onto me.

"Expecto Patronum!" I repeated. Again, a silvery wisp shot out and the dementor continued to bore down on me. I had to think of something happy, but there was no happiness inside me. I heard the high-pitched laughter that could only belong to Lord Voldemort.

"Surrender Harry… Bow to death… It might even be painless… I would not know… I have never died…

I was never going to see Ron and Hermione again. But their faces burst clearly into my mind, clearing it.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" An enormous silver stag erupted from my wand. It charged down the dementor and the dementor swooped away. Defeated. Dudley was in bad shape. I picked up the fat lump and carried him to our house.

Along the way I ran into Mrs. Figg, the batty old neighbour.

"Don't put the wand away idiot boy! Oh I'm going to kill Mundungus Fletcher!"

I was thoroughly bewildered and she explained to me that she was a squib and Mundungus and her were tasked with keeping an eye on me and reporting back to Dumbledore. But, Mundungus had bailed and the Dementors attacked. I walked Dudley back to the house where Uncle Vernon lost his temper with me. Irritated I began to walk away. Until I saw a patronus come through the door and many owls come through as well. I opened my letter and it said _Arthur has told us what happened. Whatever you do, don't leave the house again._ Later, the Dursleys were out and I heard noises downstairs. _Burglars_ I thought. However, it turned out to be all wizards, who called themselves the Order of the Phoenix. I was then whisked away to Number 12 Grimmauld Place where I reunited with Sirius, Ron and Hermione. I absolutely lost my temper with Ron and Hermione though. They kept giving excuses of why they couldn't elaborate in their letters and seemed to think that I couldn't handle myself. Before I knew it, I began shouting

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE HANDLED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT- WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS? WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW HIM COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!"

Ron was standing there with his mouth half-open, clearly stunned and at a loss for anything to say, whilst Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?

"Harry, we wanted to tell you, we really did—"Hermione began.

CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU'D HAVE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR-'

"Well, he did -"

"FOUR WEEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON—"

"We wanted to—"

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER-"

Hermione collapsed into tears. I felt immediately bad and forgave them for ranting. I was then called down to an Order meeting where I learnt that Voldemort was trying to get a weapon, something he didn't have last time. Then, I had the hearing. Everyone thought that I used the patronus charm for absolutely no reason and no one believed that Dementors were in Little Whinging. Dumbledore turned up which probably saved me, but he wouldn't even look at me. He didn't even acknowledge that I was there. Eventually, Madam Bones, with the help of Mrs. Figg who was a witness effectively believed me and I was acquitted. Mr Weasley escorted me back to Grimmauld Place and I arrived just in time for dinner. At dinner, Mrs Weasley made an important announcement.

"Listen everyone! Today, the new American Exchange Students are arriving!" She exclaimed joyously. When she was met with blank looks for everyone her expression cleared and she told us why. "Seven students from the American Wizarding School, _Mr. Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted_ are arriving at Grimmauld Place in about twenty minutes. Their school was destroyed and is under heavy reconstruction by an enemy. Now, Mad-Eye has gone to get them and they will come by portkey. I hope that all of you will treat them graciously!" Mrs. Weasley said. Fred and George looked excited, so did Ginny and Ron, heck, even I was excited to meet new people, but Hermione scowled.

"I've never heard of that school!" she shrilly exclaimed. Ron rolled his eyes

"Just because you've never heard of this school doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Who do you think they will be? Death Eaters?" He laughed and almost everyone else except Hermione and me laughed. _What if they were Death Eaters?_ I thought. I shrugged it off, Dumbledore would never allow Death Eaters into the school. I continued to eat the food that I had and I was eager to meet these new students. In twenty minutes we all finished up and stood near to door. Sirius stood near it, waiting to silence his mother. I heard the door open and saw Mad-Eye lead the seven American Students enter the house. Instantly, Sirius' mother exploded into sound

"FILTH! MUDBLOODS! DISTURBING THE HONORABLE HOUSE OF MY FOREFATHERS!"

Sirius used his wand to shoot sparks and the portrait shut. The Americans looked aghast. For some reason, they all seemed to radiate power. I assessed their appearances. Wow! The first boy was quite tall, but he bore a similar resemblance to me. He had similar untamable, raven hair and green eyes. But I noticed some differences. His eyes were more sea-green while mine we more emerald. He was quite tanned and muscular, while I was skinny and pale. They all looked fifteen. The following girl was holding my look-a-like's hand. She had long, curly blond hair that reminded me of a princess. She had tanned skin and looked athletic. She had stormy gray eyes that looked similar to an animal that was trying to kill you. I immediately decided to not cross her. Next in line was a tall boy with blond hair and sky-blue eyes. He had a scar on his lip that intrigued me. He was also tanned and had slightly muscly features. He also looks athletic like the rest. The girl next to him also held his hand and in my opinion, she was very pretty. She had choppy, chocolate-brown hair. Her eyes changed colour like a kaleidoscope and unnerved me. The next boy looked Asian and was stocky and large. However, his face clashed with the picture. He had a baby-ish face and dark brown eyes. In my opinion, he looked like a baby sumo wrestler **(If you know who said that, you get a cookie)**. After that, there came a shorter girl who stood beside the boy, she was a short girl who had curly cinnamon brown hair and unnerving, bright gold eyes. She had dark skin which was toned and she also looked fit. The last boy wore an impish grin and I instantly knew he was a trouble-maker. He had curly, black hair, dark brown eyes and extremely pointed ears, like an elf. Even his face was elf-like. He looked Latino and was extremely scrawny. He was very short and was the same size as the kaleidoscope girl.

"Hello children, I'm Molly, Molly Weasley. These are my children Fred, George, Ginny and Ron, this is Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter." She said beaming at us. The seven Americans gave slight recognition at the name and surveyed my face. Funnily enough, they didn't try and see my scar and didn't gasp or anything. They seemed normal. My look-a-like stepped forward.

"Hello, My name is Percy J-" as soon as he said the name Percy, Mr. Weasley broke his mug and Mrs. Weasley started crying. Percy looked bewildered and stammered,

"Uh, I'm sorry but what did I do wrong?" He inquired with his puzzled expression on his face. Fred answered and said

"Our other brother was also called Percy and he disowned us and moved away. Mum and Dad get emotional whenever his name is mentioned," he muttered

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, I didn't know." He apologized.

"Sorry, my dear, we just got a bit sad when you said his name."

"It's okay. Anyways, my name is Percy Jackson." He stepped backwards and the blond girl stepped forward.

"My name is Annabeth Chase." The blond boy stepped forward and said

"My name is Jason Grace." The kaleidoscope-eyed girl stepped forward next.

"My name is Piper McLean." I thought I recognized the last name from the actor Tristan McLean but I waved it off. The baby sumo-wrestler stepped forward.

"My name is Frank Zhang." The golden-eyed girl stepped forward and introduced herself,

"My name is Hazel Levesque." The latino elf stepped forward next.

"My name is Leo Valdez." After all their introductions Mrs. Weasley ushered them into the Dining Room and gave them their dinner.

"Oh, you dears must be starving." She exclaimed

"Yeah, we are!" Leo interrupted, but Piper glared at him and he silenced.

"Dears, you boys will sleep with Harry and Ron and the girls will sleep with Ginny". They nodded and gulped them their dinner wolfishly. Once they finished Ron and I escorted them up the stairs and into their rooms. As soon as we entered the room, they all started talking among themselves excitedly. I pulled Ron into a corner.  
"Don't you think they're acting a bit suspiciously?"

"Uh a bit and I think you should hear this. Percy, Jason, Frank and Hazel all had a tattoo on their forearm, I didn't see it clearly though."

"Do you think it's the Dark Mark?"

"I dunno, tomorrow, we might investigate them and see what's up," Ron stated. "But for now, let's get to bed." I crawled into my bed and explored the realm of dreams.

 **Another one down! Yeah! Finally got onto the Harry Potter part of the story. Hope you enjoy it. I'm just going to mention FieryGirl101, who did the first review for this story. Thanks, FieryGirl101, it means a lot. Anyways, enjoy the chapter.**

 **~RedGods**


	7. Suspicions Arise

**Quick Notice: We hit 500 views and we're closing in on 600! Yeah! This is great! Also, thank you ClearcloudofRiverHuffle for reviewing and telling me you enjoy it. Anyways! On with the show.**

 **Chapter 7: Hermione**

Yesterday, those American Exchange Students arrived and I immediately noticed lots of things wrong. I had never heard of their school, Mr Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted. It was quite suspicious. Additionally, they all said they were fifteen, but the way they acted and the look in their eyes told me that they seemed to be older. The last thing that possibly worried me the most. Percy, Jason, Hazel and Frank had a tattoo on their forearm. It was obscured by their T-Shirts, but I could see the bottom. They all looked similar and I feared that it was the Dark Mark. They all seemed to radiate an aura of power and they were all athletic and muscly. They definitely looked like they were not to be messed with. I showed the girls up to Ginny and I's room. They immediately started talking in a corner in some foreign language. I decided to shelf my burning suspicions and gave them the benefit of the doubt and struck up conversations.

"Hey girls! Come on over here, talk to us." I shouted across the room. They nodded and walked towards us. The girl named Annabeth broke the silence.

"So, why don't you tell us about yourself?" She asked

"Okay," I replied. "My name is Hermione Granger and I am a Muggle-Born. Both my parents are dentists. I attend Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I was sorted into Gryffindor, the house of the brave. I am in my fifth year and Hogwarts and my best friends are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." I said, beaming at them. Ginny then introduced herself. 

"My name is Ginevra Weasley but everyone calls me Ginny. I am a Pure-Blood witch as both my parents are magical. My Dad works at the Ministry of Magic in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. I was also sorted into Gryffindor and I'm in my fourth year at Hogwarts. Ginny chanted.

"Well? Tell us a bit about yourself, please. I asked.

 **Annabeth:**

When Hermione asked tell us a bit about yourself, I really wanted to say that My name is Annabeth Chase and I am a modern-day demigod. I am a daughter of Athena and I have saved the world a couple times over. I was on the quest to retrieve Zeus' master bolt and I sailed the sea of monsters to recover the Golden Fleece. I then held the weight of the sky and wandered the Labyrinth. I fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth and I fought in the Second Titan War. Then, I sailed the Argo II and fell into Tartarus. Then we went and mediated a battle between the Greeks and Romans and saved the world from Gaia. However, I restrained myself and stuck to my cover-up story.

"My name is Annabeth Chase and I am a Half-Blood witch. My mother died when I was very young and my father explained to me that I was a witch and so was my mother. My dad, a muggle works as a history professor **(don't quote me on that)**. My stepmother is a housewife and helps with my younger siblings, Bobby and Matthew, who are not magical. I attended Mr. Brunner's Academy for the Magically gifted when I was eleven years old but ran away from home when I was seven. I am now attending Hogwarts in my fifth year." Thankfully, the other girls also stuck to their cover-up story.

"My name is Piper McLean and I am also a Half-Blood. My mother was also a witch and died when I was very young, my father, Tristan McLean explained that I was a witch and my mother was also one. My dad works as an actor in Hollywood. I attended Mr. Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted when I was eleven and I made my new friends. I am now going to attend Hogwarts for my fifth year." She chanted.

"My name is Hazel Levesque and I am a Half-Blood. My father was the wizard in my family and I lost him when I was very young aswell. My mother, was a fortune teller but I do not believe she was magical. I lost her when I was elven, just after I went to school. Since both my parents were dead I was permitted to stay at school year-round, but when I can't I spend the holidays with my brother, Nico, who is also an orphan. I am now going to attend Hogwarts in my fifth year." She exclaimed.

Phew, I thought, I thought at least one of us was going to blow our cover. Hermione and Ginny looked very sympathetic.

"You all lost one or both of your parents when you were very young? I'm sorry." They both said.

"It's okay," I replied, "We just don't like to talk about it."

"Why don't we all go to bed, we'll continue building our friendship in the morning," I said. They all nodded and ended up curling into our beds. Very soon, I drifted off into the realm of sleep.

 **Ron:**

I was awoken by Harry at twelve in the afternoon! Wow, I thought. I really slept in. Mum's gonna kill me

"Bloody Hell Harry, what time is it?

"It's twelve Ron, your mum is cooking up Brunch, I just though we could learn a bit more about them." I turned around and saw everyone awake.

"Guys, are you not jetlagged at all?" I exclaimed

"No, not really we aren't affected by jetlag much," Jason replied.

"I thought we could get to know each other a bit better," Harry sheepishly asked. The transfer students looked at each other and shrugged.

"Cool!" Percy said. "You start, Ron."

"Okay, my name is Ronald Weasley, but you can call me Ron. I am a Pure-Blood as both my parents are wizards. My dad works at the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department at the Ministry of Magic. I was sorted into Gryffindor and am now attending my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"You guys probably already know my story but I'll say it anyway," Harry sighed. "My name is Harry Potter and I am a Half-Blood. When I was one year old I lost both my parents to the dark wizard Lord Voldemort. He tried to kill me, but I survived and got this lightning scar." He raked back his hairline and showed his scar. The Americans grimaced but only I realised. Harry continued with his monologue. "I live with my aunt and uncle and I got my Hogwarts letter and realised I was a Wizard. I was sorted into Gryffindor, the house of the brave. Last year, a Death Eater entered me into the Triwizard Tournament and I saw Voldemort return. He also killed my friend Cedric Diggory." Harry said, depressed. The Americans looked sad and sympathetic.

"I'm sorry for your losses Harry," Frank apologized.

"It's fine!" Harry snapped. "You tell us a bit about yourselves. Percy went first,

"My name is Percy Jackson and I am a Half-Blood. My dad died before I got to know him on a fishing expedition. My mum is a muggle and told me that I was a wizard. My stepdad is an English teacher and my mum is a writer. She was in an abusive relationship with my first stepdad, Gabe Ugliano, but he got arrested for hitting her. I went to Mr Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted at eleven. I am about to start my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"My name is Jason Grace and I am a Half-Blood. My dad died when I was very young and my mum was an alcoholic and died soon after him. I live with my sister Thalia, when I'm not staying year-round at school. I went to Mr. Brunner's Academy with my sister when I was eleven. Now, I am going to start my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"My name is Frank Zhang. I am a Half-Blood. My dad left my mum, but he sometimes visits me. My mum was a soldier but died in Afghanistan. I live with my grandmother who calls me Fai **(I'm just going to say she didn't die as Frank saw a buzzard flying away from the house in SoN).** I went to Mr. Brunner's academy when I was eleven and am going to start my fifth year at Hogwarts."

"My name is Leo Valdez. I am a Half-Blood. My dad died before I knew him and I was raised by my mum. However, she died in a fire when I was also quite young. I bounced around in the foster care system until I got my letter from the Academy. I learned I was a wizard and now I stay there year 'round. I am going to start my fifth year at Hogwarts."

I felt really sad for them as all of them had lost both parents and only Percy still had his mum. We had an awkward silence, until Harry broke it.

"Well, anyone want some brunch?"

Percy and Leo rocketed out the door. Frank and Jason ambled down the stairs, Harry and I followed, keen to share this new information with Hermione.

When we got down, Percy and Leo were chowing down as well as everyone else. Hermione gestured for us to join her. After I gulped down my food, Harry, Hermione and I went back upstairs to discuss this new information. Harry was reluctant to suspect him.

"Hermione, what if they're really just transfer students? They seem alright."  
"You might think that, but they have a lot of suspicious behavior. I made a list.

 **All of the students seem to radiate an aura of power**

 **All the girls have lost at least one parent**

 **Annabeth seems to be much older than fifteen**

 **They all speak an old language**

 **They have odd nicknames for each other – Seaweed Brain, Wise Girl, Beauty Queen**

 **Have a tattoo on their forearm, Possibly the Dark Mark**

I read the piece of paper and gave Hermione an astounded look

"How do them, having lost a parent, speaking an old language and having odd nicknames mean they're suspicious. I was quite suspicious of them, but these reasons are ridiculous!" I exclaimed

"They're perfectly reasonable to me, Ronald. If you and Harry, don't want to help me. I'll do it myself.

"Hermione, we want to help you, we just think that some of those reasons don't suggest suspicious behavior.

"Fine! We have to earn their trust, and become their friends, only then will we be able to learn more about them." Hermione whispered.

 **Knocked another one out of the park. I might try get another chapter up today, so yeah! Review and give me some more ideas for this story. Cheers!**

 **~RedGods**


	8. Diagon Alley

**Chapter 8: Percy**

The past few days at Grimmauld Place were really fun. Hermione, Ron and Harry had really warmed up to us and the process of cleaning the house was quite fun. We got to spend time with each other and it was good. Harry, Hermione and Ron were good people, and good friends. Today, we got our equipment and we were heading down to Diagon Alley. The Golden Trio were shocked when they said we needed to get wands. My wonderful girlfriend came to the rescue though,

"We used wands in America, but we were told that since the cores are different in America and for a different style, we needed to get new ones once we came to Britain." All of us managed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Wise Girl," I muttered out of the corner of my mouth

"What would you do without me Seaweed Brain," she replied. She hit my arm playfully and we were told we were travelling by Floo Powder. Essentially, it's this funny powder that when you step into a fireplace and throw it at your feet, it teleports you to your desired location.

"Now speak very clearly, shout Diagon Alley, and then throw the Floo Powder at your feet. Harry went first, followed by Ron and Hermione. They all shouted _Diagon Alley_ very clearly and they probably went to the perfect location. "Percy, you first." I swallowed and stepped into the fireplace. Even though it went well for everyone else, I was still apprehensive and thought it may not work. I grabbed some Floo Powder and shouted

"D-DIAGON ALLEY!" The next feeling I got was constricting my throat and flipping my stomach. It felt like I was squeezed into a tiny hole and was suffocating. I travelled down this hole and in a few seconds, I popped up in a place that must've been Diagon Alley. I saw Harry, Hermione and Ron looking at me.

"Well done!" Harry exclaimed. "The first time I did that I ended up in a complete other place," he said, grinning. My face must've paled and Hermione replied

"Your friends will probably get through fine." No matter what she said, I was still worried about what would happen if my friends didn't make it. However, I need not have doubted, as all of my friends came through, looking sick but happy. Except Hazel who looked very sick, but moody and angry, not happy.

 **(Disclaimer: I'm just going to say that one of the members of the Order, probably McGonagall because she's the only one other than Dumbledore to know about them being demigods, got the money from the Gringotts Vault the gods created, so all of them have plenty of** **Galleons, Sickles and Knuts!)**

Let's do some shopping!" Annabeth shouted.

We all nodded and decided to explore the abstract attractions of Diagon Alley. We first decided to go into Flourish and Blotts, the book shop. Mostly because Annabeth wouldn't stop jumping up and down like a little girl when it came to books. She grabbed me by the arm and dragged me inside. I flashed the others a look at said _Help Me!_ To my relief, they followed and I breathed a sigh of relief, thanking them that we wouldn't spend five hours shopping for books. Frank (The only one who didn't have dyslexia) grabbed the booklist and told us what to buy. We grabbed seven copies of each as the Weasleys had already bought the books for their children, Harry and Hermione.

After about an hour, we finally exited Flourish and Blotts and decided to go into Madam Malkins, where we would buy our school robes. We were told that we had to have three sets of plain black robe and a pointed black hat for day wear. We also needed a winter coat because the winter was deliriously cold here. The boys had to wear long black pants while the girls had to wear a black skirt, with the options of wearing pants instead. The boys' uniforms were quite easy, while the girls spent quite a lot longer. They ended up buying two skirts and two pants, even though we were only supposed to buy three.

After that we went to the Apothecary right next door to stock up on Potions ingredients. We went to Potage's Cauldron Shop to get pewter cauldrons for potions and then we went into Eeylops Owl Emporium to get owls for all of us. I was skeptical that they might attack me, but Hecate seemed to have worked that out with Athena and they didn't kill me. I bought a handsome Brown owl, Annabeth bought a beautiful Tawny Owl as did Jason. Piper bought a Screech Owl, while Frank and Hazel bought brown owls. Leo, wanting to stand out, bought a snowy owl, just like Harry's. Harry and Ron stocked up on owl treats for their owls and we mirrored them. Feeding our owls the same treats. We paid and hurried off, going to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Florean greeted Harry,

"Hello Harry, you finally back to try and get some free ice-creams? I'll let you have all of them free, because I like you!" He said winking. We all got the ice-creams we wished for and slurped them down with gusto. We decided to go to Quality Quidditch Supplies next as Harry wanted to get a broom-servicing kit. Jason and Annabeth also wanted to get brooms to play Quidditch. They seemed very interested, so they got themselves Nimbus Two Thousand and Ones. According to Harry, they were very good quality brooms. Ron stood there with his mouth wide open, shocked that we just spent so much money. Hermione shut it for him and we strolled into Ollivanders. In my opinion, Ollivanders looked quite shabby. It was very small, except for a very small, spindly chair in the corner. Thousands of boxes were piled up, right to the ceiling of the tiny shop. All of them having a thick layer of dust to them. I was just observing them when an old man emerged from the door. He was pale and balding and the little hair he had left was very gray. He cast us all a look and clapped his hands.

"I wondered when I'd be seeing you Americans. Dumbledore said that you would be attending Hogwarts." He said with a smile dancing on his face.

"Are you Ollivander?" Hazel asked.

"Why yes, my dear. I presume you came for wands and not to chit-chat with me. Miss. Chase, let's start with you." Annabeth stepped forward nervously. I dragged her back and gave her a quick kiss.

"Good luck Wise Girl." She smiled happily and walked forward. Ollivander returned with a wand.

"Try, this. Poplar, twelve inches, reasonably springy, dragon heartstring." Annabeth gave the wand a wave but Ollivander snatched it out immediately.

"How about this one, Pine, nine and a half inches, sturdy, unicorn hair ." Annabeth gave the wand another wave but again, Ollivander snatched it out of her grasp. He did this for two other wands until he came out with another box.

"Hmmm, perhaps, this one! Olive, eleven inches, quite pliant, nice for transfiguration, phoenix tail feather. Annabeth gave this wand a wave, and red sparks came out.

"Oh Bravo! Yes!" Ollivander said. "Miss Levesque, please come forward." Hazel stepped forward and waited for Ollivander to return.

"Poplar, eight and a half inches, Unicorn Hair, Unyielding." Hazel picked up the wand and waved it and a gust a wind blew from the tip. "Treat this well Miss. Levesque. Miss Mclean?" Piper stepped forward and went to receive her wand.

"Apple, ten inches, unicorn hair, good for charmwork," Piper picked up the wand and waved it. Flowers erupted from the tip of the wand. "Apple wood is very rare is great for people with personal charm. I think you have plenty." Ollivander whispered.

"Now for the boys. Mr. Valdez, please come up." Leo bounded up and posed for Ollivander, who shook his head. He vanished to look for a wand. "Cypress, seven and a half inches, phoenix tail feather." Leo took it and gave it a wave and the temperature in the room rose by about ten degrees. "Be careful Mr. Valdez, this wand bonds well with those who are self-sacrificing.

Mr. Grace, you next." Jason walked up and waited while Ollivander went to get a wand. "Oak, twelve inches, dragon heartstring." Jason took and flourished the wand and electricity crackled from the wand tip. "Mr. Grace, this wand demands a partner of great strength… you must be strong.

Mr. Zhang, you will receive your wand now." Ollivander returned a short while later, with a new box. "Try this one, Mahogany, thirteen inches, phoenix tail feather." Frank waved the wand and purple sparks were emitted from the tip. "Mr. Zhang, This wand needs a strong, safe, protective owner.

Treat it with care. Finally, Mr. Jackson please come up now." I walked up to Ollivander who assessed me. He walked into the back and got a wand. "Hmmm… Ash, eleven and a half inches, dragon heartstring." I took the wand and took a deep breath. I waved the wand and water erupted from the tip. "Very interesting Mr. Jackson. Ash wood is extremely loyal to it's true owner. The owner may be stubborn and courageous and will never sway from his beliefs. This makes it, a very interesting, definitive wood type." Ollivander finished. We all thanked Ollivander and paid for our wands and went to the Leaky Cauldron. From there we went back to Grimmauld Place. At dinner Mrs. Weasley gave a reminder

"Listen children, school starts in two days. You need to pack your trunks by tomorrow so we can get to the platform on time." She said. The seven of us looked bewildered. We were going by train? Wouldn't the muggles see them if we went by a huge magical train. After dinner the four boys went up to our room, while Harry, Hermione and Ron decided to stay downstairs for a while. We rushed upstairs and changed. Leo kept grumbling.

"This feels so weird."

"What feels weird? Frank replied

"This body."

"I know what you mean, I hate being stuck in this body."

"Guys! Shut up, anyone could hear us!" I shouted. They quietened down after that. Little did we know that Ron was outside the door, clinging to our every word.

 **Oooooh, Cliffhanger. What will happen next? Mostly it will be continued suspicions and getting on the Hogwarts Express. Sorting will probably happen chapter after next. We also hit 600 views! Also thanks again to FieryGirl101 for the continued support by reviewing!**

 **Anyways, I should probably explain the wands…**

 **Annabeth: Olive because it's sacred to Athena, even though it isn't used in wand-making. Phoenix tail feather as she uses her intelligence to come up with a wide range of scenarios. Phoenix feather produces the widest range of magic.**

 **Hazel: Poplar because it's sacred to Hades/Pluto. It is also best with a witch of clear vision. I just felt like this suited her even more because she knows the difference between right and wrong and she can also bend the mist to make others vision cloud**

 **Piper: Apple because it's sacred to Aphrodite. It's a very rare wand-wood and is paired well with an owner of great charm. She is very beautiful and she can charmspeak, so it fits.**

 **Leo: Hephaestus doesn't have a sacred tree so I chose Cypress because a cypress tree was found to be nearly impervious to flame. Much like Leo. Cypress wood in a wand always works best with an owner who is self-sacrificing and willing to die a heroic death. Much like when Leo sacrificed himself at the end of Blood of Olympus.**

 **Jason: Oak because it's sacred to Zeus/Jupiter. English Oak wood requires an owner who it requires a partner of power and someone who is strong and loyal. Jason fits all those categories so it works well with his character.**

 **Frank: Again, Mars/Ares doesn't have a sacred tree. Instead, I chose one that fit his character. Mahogany wood represents strength, safety and protectiveness. All represent Frank as he is extremely strong and will protect his friends with everything he's got.**

 **Percy: I chose Ash because it's sacred to Poseidon. Ash wood bonds are very strong with it's first owner. Witches and Wizards who carry ash wands stick strongly to their beliefs and seen as stubborn and courageous. This fits Percy perfectly as he is stubborn and his beliefs about equality never sway, most notably shown in The Last Olympian.**

 **~RedGods**


	9. Hogwarts Ahead!

**Chapter 9: Hermione**

Over the past few days, I had really bonded with the American students. Annabeth in particular. She was incredibly like me, sharing a love of books and loathing it when she didn't understand, or couldn't comprehend a certain situation. I was still quite paranoid and preoccupied and thought they possibly could be Death Eaters, but I had my doubts. But, yesterday something happened that redoubled my efforts to discover the truth about these students. Ron and Harry felt terrible about spying on them as they had really bonded with the Americans, as did I. However, I convinced them to do it a few more times, and Ron struck gold. Ron was waiting outside the boys' room when one of them, I think Leo said

"This feels so weird."

"What feels weird? Frank replied

"This body."

"I know what you mean, I hate being stuck in this body." Ron immediately ran down the stairs and told me this suspicious behavior. I immediately thought, _Polyjuice Potion! They must be using Polyjuice Potion!_

"Hermione, there's no way to check that they're using it, the Marauder's Map is only at Hogwarts and there are no stores of Polyjuice Potion in the house!" Harry exclaimed

"Harry, be reasonable, they said that this BODY feels weird. What else could they be using?"

"Hermione, it's not like Moody. They don't even have a separate flask or anything that they could be drinking from."

"Harry, four of them have tattoos on their forearm. Don't you think that could be the dark mark?"

"Look, if you're so worried about them being death eaters, just confront them with Mrs. Weasley right now. We can check the Polyjuice problem later."

"MRS. WEASLEY! WE NEED HELP!" I shouted. Mrs. Weasley scurried out of the kitchen and had a worried expression.

"What happened dears?"

"Mum, we need you to come upstairs and help us with something, bring Sirius aswell." Mrs. Weasley ran out and returned shortly with Sirius. We lead them up the stairs and into the boys' room. Percy and Leo stopped pillow-fighting immediately and turned to us. An expression of puzzlement on their face.

"We were just pillow-fighting Mrs. Weasley, we didn't do anything wrong." Percy protested.

"Percy, Hermione just wants to ask you a question." Mrs. Weasley replied, soothingly. Percy's face turned into a grin and he turned to face me.

"What is the question you want answered Hermione?"  
"What is that tattoo on your forearm? You, Frank, Jason and Hazel have them. You are branded with the Dark Mark, you're Death Eaters." My voice began to quiver. Sirius and Mrs. Weasley drew their wands and had grave expressions on their faces. To my surprise, all of them threw their heads back and laughed. Leo collapsed and was beating his fists on the ground.

"Thanatos eaters, who the hell would want to eat him!" he cried. Frank and Percy doubled over with laughter.

"Death Eaters, I don't know why they call themselves Death Eaters, to be honest," Percy choked.

"You seriously think that we're in league with Voldemort." Jason asked quizzically.

"If you're not Death Eaters, what's that tattoo?" I demanded.

"This? It's a harmless tattoo I got, Hermione, not the dark mark." Jason claimed, as he lifted up the sleeve of his shirt. Frank and Hazel had different tattoos to Jasons'. Jason had an eagle tattoo with the letters SPQR under them. He then had twelve singular black stripes running down his forearm. Frank and Percy's tattoos were different. Frank had two spears crossed together with the letters, SPQR under them and two lines. Percy had a trident on his arm and SPQR under that. He only had one line under it though. They covered it up and replied

"We're not Death Eaters Hermione. We're just regular American Exchange students with a tattoo and lines on their forearm. Before you ask, Hazel's is a glyph, each of ours is unique." I was really stumped this time, I decided not to ask about Leo's comment earlier and resolved to check the Marauder's Map at Hogwarts instead of accusing them any further and making myself look more like a fool.

"Sorry, last year someone we knew was actually a Death Eater, I was just a bit paranoid."

"Hermione, we would never betray any of you, you let us into your house, we couldn't be more thankful." Frank said. They sounded genuine and I believed them.

"Sorry again." I repeated. With that, Ron, Harry, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and I walked out of the room.

"It was good to check, we must be sure." Sirius said. "But since we know that they aren't Death Eaters, let's treat them well." I nodded, I felt bad that I accused them, but I had a gut feeling that they weren't who they said they were. I decided to put the matter from my mind and act like nothing had happened. We were leaving for Hogwarts tomorrow and I needed to finish packing. I had taken out lots of my books for a bit of light reading. I put them in my trunk and drifted off to sleep.

 **Jason:**

Hermione was on to us. I just hoped that she wouldn't keep investigating us, and our excuse was satisfactory. Today, I woke up and realised that we were finally going to Hogwarts and we needed to protect Harry Potter. I rocked up to breakfast and saw everyone else there. Hermione sheepishly smiled at me that I seemed to take as an apology for suspecting me.

"Jason! You got up after me. I didn't think that was possible!" Percy shouted, wide-eyed. I saw the shimmer and happiness in his eyes. It probably helped that his arm was around Annabeth and they were smiling. Frank had the same happiness in his eyes. His arm was around Hazel. I smiled at Piper and put my arm around her.

"You ready for Hogwarts?" I whispered in her ear.

"We've saved the world, Magic school can't be so hard."

"Children! We're taking the Muggle Taxis to Platform Nine and three quarters." The seven of us exchanged puzzled expressions and I replied

"Excuse me, did you say Platform Nine and three quarters?" Mrs. Weasley smiled and had a twinkle in her eye and simply muttered

"You'll see." With that cryptic message, she disappeared back into the kitchen. Only to re-emerge a few minutes later.

"Mad-Eye, Arthur, and Tonks will be coming as well, to ensure your safety. I couldn't wait to get to this Platform Nine and Three Quarters." An hour later, Mrs. Weasley's voice echoed through the house.

"GET READY! THE TAXI IS HERE. WE'RE GOING TO KING'S CROSS! HURRY UP OR YOU'LL MISS THE TRAIN!" I jumped up, grabbed my trunk and ran down the stairs. Percy followed suit and saw everyone else downstairs, crowded around Ginny. From what I could gather, Fred and George had tried to bewitch their trunks to fly down the stairs, to save the bother of carrying them. The result being that they had hurtled into Ginny two flights of stairs into the hall. I heard Mrs. Black and Mrs. Weasley screaming at the top of their lungs.

"- COULD HAVE DONE HER A SERIOUS INJURY, YOU IDIOTS -"

"- FILTHY HALF-BREEDS, BESMIRCHING THE HOUSE OF MY FATHERS -"

"All the children had been cowering in a corner and quailed under Mrs. Weasley's furious stares. She screamed

"GET IN THE CAR!" In a hurry, we all rushed through the door and saw multiple taxis and loaded into each one. Percy, Annabeth, Frank and Hazel loaded into one. Mrs. Weasley, Hermione, Harry, and Ron loaded into the second. Mad-Eye, Leo, Piper and I loaded into the third. Fred, George, Tonks and Mr. Weasley loaded into the fourth. Funnily enough, a dog loaded into Harry's car. I put it from my mind. We got to King's Cross very quickly and arrived at Platform Nine and Ten. We were supposed to get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It was Percy who spoke up.

"How do we get onto the Platform?"

"You need to run right at that wall between Platform Nine and Ten. Harry replied, "I'll demonstrate." Harry and Ron ran straight at the wall between Platform Nine and Ten and they vanished straight through the wall. I blinked, unable to see what was happening. Hermione, Fred and George went through next. This left us alone with the adults. Leo, the daredevil decided to try it.

"They didn't suffer brain damage, even if I did, it wouldn't impact me as much, I'm already crazy." He said grinning. Everyone snorted and Leo ran through the barrier, dragging Hazel and Frank through with him. Deaf to their protests he dragged them through and they vanished. Percy and Annabeth gave each other a kiss for luck, and then ran too. They vanished, so me and Piper followed them in. I didn't die, instead I saw a beautiful red train, labelled _Hogwarts Express_. Annabeth had her mouth wide open; I knew her love for architecture. We all rushed onto the _Hogwarts Express_ and found a compartment, only occupied by 'Loony Lovegood' according to Ginny. There was barely enough space for all of us. Us Seven, Harry, Ginny, Neville and Loony. Eleven in one compartment was a tight squeeze. Soon to be thirteen once the prefects joined

'Hi, Luna,' said Ginny, 'is it okay if we take these seats?'

The girl beside the window looked up. She had straggly, waist-length, dirty-blonde hair, very pale eyebrows and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. I knew at once why Neville had chosen to pass this compartment by. The girl gave off an aura of distinct dottiness. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of Butterbeer corks, or that she was reading a magazine upside-down. Her eyes ranged over Neville and came to rest on Harry. She nodded.

'Thanks,' said Ginny, smiling at her.

Harry and Neville stowed the three trunks and Hedwig's cage in the luggage rack and sat down. The rest of us copied them and Luna watched them over her upside-down magazine, which was called The Quibbler. She did not seem to need to blink as much as normal humans. She stared and stared at Harry, who had taken the seat opposite her and now wished he hadn't.

'Had a good summer, Luna?' Ginny asked.

'Yes,' said Luna dreamily, without taking her eyes off Harry. 'Yes, it was quite enjoyable, you know. You're Harry Potter,' she added.

'I know I am,' said Harry.

Neville chuckled. Luna turned her pale eyes on him instead.

'And I don't know who you are.'

'I'm nobody,' said Neville hurriedly.

'No you're not,' said Ginny sharply. 'Neville Longbottom-Luna Lovegood. Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw.'

'I don't know who you are either,' said Luna in a singsong voice, gesturing to the seven. Thankfully, Annabeth talked.

"We're the American Exchange Students." She replied

"Hmmm, cool." Luna said, in an extremely dreamy voice. She went straight back to her magazine. I started at Percy and we smirked, we knew that Luna would be a bit of an oddball.

She raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent. Harry and Neville looked at each other with their eyebrows raised. Ginny suppressed a giggle. That effectively reflected our reactions aswell. I ended up striking a conversation with Piper. Hermione was talking to Annabeth and Harry was talking to Percy. Suddenly, Percy made a sound that made everyone, even Luna look at him.

"What?" Luna asked.

"THE TRIP IS EIGHT HOURS, EIGHT FRICKING HOURS WITH 6 ADHD De-, WIZARDS!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. All the demigods paled. Eight hours was going to be hectic. We decided to stay silent for a while.

The train rattled onwards, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day; one moment the carriage was full of sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously grey clouds.

'Guess what I got for my birthday?' said Neville.

'Another Remembrall?' said Harry.

"What's a Remembrall?" Piper inquired.

"It's like a red orb that my gran sent, I usually forget stuff and the orb turns red if you forget something.

' To answer your question Harry, no,' said Neville. 'I could do with one, though, I lost the old one ages ago... No, look at this...'

He dug the hand that was not keeping a firm grip on Trevor into his schoolbag and after a little bit of rummaging pulled out what appeared to be a small grey cactus in a pot, except that it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines.

'Mimbulus mimbletonia,' he said proudly.

Everyone stared at the thing. Clearly mystified as to what it was. It was pulsating slightly, giving it the rather sinister look of some diseased internal organ.

'It's really, really rare,' said Neville, beaming. 'I don't know if there's one in the greenhouse at Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout. My Great Uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it.'

I assumed knew that Neville's favourite subject was Herbology, but for the life of him he could not see what he would want with this stunted little plant.

'Does it-er-do anything?' I asked.

'Loads of stuff!' said Neville proudly. 'It's got an amazing defensive mechanism. Here, hold Trevor for me...'

He dumped the toad into my lap and took a quill from his schoolbag. Luna Lovegood's popping eyes appeared over the top of her upside-down magazine again, watching what Neville was doing. Percy, Leo and Frank were watching open-mouthily. Neville held the Mimbulus mimbletonia up to his eyes, his tongue between his teeth, chose his spot, and gave the plant a sharp prod with the tip of his quill.

Liquid squirted from every boil on the plant; thick, stinking, dark green jets of it. They hit the ceiling, the windows, and spattered Luna Lovegood's magazine; Ginny, who had flung her arms up in front of her face just in time, merely looked as though she was wearing a slimy green hat, but Harry, whose hands had been busy preventing Trevor's escape, received a faceful. It smelled like rancid manure. The rest of the demigods ducked and didn't get hit with much. Except Percy, as he conducted the liquid away. Hermione's eyes narrowed in his direction, but changed instantly. Percy smirked and teased us,

"Haha! I'm not hit, you guys are gonna stink for a while." Annabeth pouted at him and replied

"You're not going to kiss me until I clean up?" Percy paled and replied,

"You're beautiful no matter what Wise Girl," Piper squealed from next to me and I whispered in her ear,

"Your inner Aphrodite is showing." She quickly turned beet red and replied

"But they're so cute together. The wizards fidgeted uncomfortably and Leo had to put on an announcer's voice.

"UHHH! PERCY, ANNABETH, EVERYONE IS WATCHING!" They broke away and started blushing.

Neville, whose face and torso were also drenched, shook his head to get the worst out of his eyes.

At that precise moment the door of their compartment slid open.

'Oh ... hello, Harry,' said a nervous voice. 'Um ... bad time?'

Harry wiped the lenses of his glasses with his Trevor-free hand. A very pretty girl with long, shiny black hair was standing in the doorway smiling at him: he guessed that Harry had a crush on this girl, seeing as how he was blushing.

'Oh ... hi,' said Harry blankly.

'Um...' said Cho. 'Well ... just thought I'd say hello ... 'bye then.'

Rather pink in the face, she closed the door and departed. Harry slumped back in his seat and groaned. I had a feeling that he would have liked Cho to discover him sitting with a group of very cool people laughing their heads off at a joke he had just told; not covered in stinksap.

'Never mind,' said Ginny bracingly. 'Look, we can easily get rid of all this.' She pulled out her wand. 'Scourgify!'

The Stinksap vanished.

'Sorry.' said Neville again, in a small voice.

Harry, Ginny, and Neville had finished their pumpkin pasties and were busy swapping Chocolate Frog Cards when the compartment door slid open and Hermione and Ron walked in, accompanied by Crookshanks and a shrilly hooting Pigwidgeon in his cage.

'I'm starving,' said Ron, stowing Pigwidgeon next to Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Harry and throwing himself into the seat next to him. He ripped open the wrapper, bit off the frog's head and leaned back with his eyes closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning.

'Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each house,' said Hermione, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat. 'Boy and girl from each.'

'And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?' said Ron, still with his eyes closed.

'Malfoy,' replied Harry at once, certain his worst fear would be confirmed.

"Who's Malfoy?" Hazel asked.

"A Slytherin bully, he absolutely loathes Harry, Hermione and me." Ron said, indicating himself. Percy growled

"I hate bullies!" Annabeth put her arm on his shoulder and he defused. 'And that complete cow Pansy Parkinson,' said Hermione viciously. 'How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll...'

'Who are Hufflepuff's?' Harry asked. 

'Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott,' said Ron thickly.

'And Anthony Goldstein and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw,' said Hermione.

Everyone turned to look at Luna Lovegood, who was gazing unblinkingly at Ron over the top of The Quibbler. He swallowed his mouthful of Frog.

'Yeah, I know I did,' he said, looking mildly surprised.

'She didn't enjoy it very much,' Luna informed him. 'She doesn't think you treated her very well, because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded,' she added thoughtfully, 'I don't like dancing very much.' I didn't have a clue what they were on about, but Ron was clearly stunned.

She retreated behind The Quibbler again. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Ginny for some kind of explanation, but Ginny had stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to stop herself giggling. Piper and Hazel did the same, and tried to stop their giggling. Percy and Annabeth were looking extremely shocked. Ron shook his head, bemused, then checked his watch.

'We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often,' he told Harry and Neville, 'and we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving. I can't wait to get Crabbe and Goyle for something...'

'You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!' said Hermione sharply.

'Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all,' said Ron sarcastically.

'So you're going to descend to his level?'

'No, I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine.'

'For heavens sake, Ron-'

'I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing,' said Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair. 'I ... must ... not ... look ... like ... a ... baboon's ... backside.'

Everyone laughed, but nobody laughed harder than Luna Lovegood. That is saying something as Leo and Percy lost it. They both doubled over and Piper shrieked in laugher. However, Luna let out a scream of mirth that caused Hedwig to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and Crookshanks to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. Luna laughed so hard her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs, and onto the floor.

'That was funny!'

Her prominent eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ron. Utterly nonplussed, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on Ron's face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Luna Lovegood, who was rocking backwards and forwards, clutching her sides.

'Are you taking the mickey?' said Ron, frowning at her.

'Baboon's ... backside!' she choked, holding her ribs. Leo looked very amused and tears of laughter were leaking out of his eyes. Suddenly, the compartment door slid open and everyone craned their head. Everyone looked around and stared at the new boy. He was skinny and pale with white blond hair. The two boys flanking him looked more like gorillas. I almost laughed at the sight of them. However, Harry seemed to think the contrary.

'What?' he said aggressively, before the boy said could open his mouth. I assumed this was Malfoy as Harry was glaring at him.

'Manners, Potter, or I'll have to give you a detention,' drawled Malfoy, whose sleek blond hair and pointed chin were extremely irritating. 'You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means that I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments.'

'Yeah,' said Harry, 'but you, unlike me, are a git, so get out and leave us alone.'

The compartment erupted in laughter. Malfoy's lip curled.

"Who might you be?" Malfoy asked, addressing all of us.

"We're American transfer students." I replied

"You pure blood?"

"No, we're all half-blood."

"Better than that Mudblood Granger anyways. You lot better stop hanging around Potty and Weasel, or their bad behavior will rub off on you." Malfoy sneered. He then turned back to Harry, oblivious to Percy trembling in rage.

'Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?' he asked.

'Shut up, Malfoy,' said Hermione sharply.

'I seem to have touched a nerve,' said Malfoy, smirking. 'Well, just watch yourself, Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line.' Hermione stood up, but Percy leapt to his feet and send Malfoy flying with a punch.

"Don't you dare talk to my friends that way," Percy growled.

"Ahhhhhh, you've killed me, my father will hear about this!" Malfoy shouted, before leaving." Annabeth pulled Percy back down, reproachfully. Hermione and Harry glanced at each other, obviously worried. Ron however, stood up, beaming.

"That was bloody brilliant Percy, you got rid of Malfoy!" Percy grinned and then leant on Annabeth's shoulder. Everyone remained quiet for the remainder of the trip, including Leo, which was a stretch for him. I looked outside and the weather remained undecided as they travelled farther and farther north. Rain spattered the windows in a half-hearted way, then the sun put in a feeble appearance before clouds drifted over it once more. When darkness fell and lamps came on inside the carriages, Luna rolled up The Quibbler, put it carefully away in her bag and took to staring at everyone in the compartment instead.

Harry was sitting with his forehead pressed against the train window, trying to get a first distant glimpse of Hogwarts, but it was a moonless night and the rain-streaked window was grimy.

'We'd better change,' said Hermione at last, and all of us opened their trunks with difficulty and pulled on their school robes. She and Ron pinned their prefect badges carefully to their chests. I even saw Ron checking his reflection in the black window.

At last, the train began to slow down and I heard the usual racket up and down of a train slowing down. Everybody scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready for departure. Ron and Hermione were supposed to supervise all this; they disappeared from the carriage again, leaving us and Harry and the others to look after Crookshanks and Pigwidgeon, along with all of our pets.

'I'll carry that owl, if you like,' said Luna to Harry, reaching out for Pigwidgeon as Neville stowed Trevor carefully in an inside pocket.

'Oh-er-thanks,' said Harry, handing her the cage and hoisting Hedwig's more securely into his arms. They shuffled out of the compartment feeling the first sting of the night air on their faces as they joined the crowd in the corridor. Slowly, we moved towards the doors. With so many pets, it made dismounting terrible. A brisk, female voice was calling up

"First years, line up over here, please!" The seven of us walked up to this teacher and Annabeth spoke up.

"We're the American Exchange Students, what do we do?"

"Go over to the carriages, follow the other students up to Hogwarts." We nodded and followed Harry and his friends, who was in heated debate with Ron and Hermione.

'What are those things, d'you reckon?' he asked Ron, nodding at the horrible horses as the other students surged past them.

'What things?'

'Those horse-' I paused as well. I saw those leathery horse things. Percy tilted his head and recited.

"The horses are thestrals. They can only be seen by people who have seen death, they are usually seen as omens of death, but they are just given a bad reputation.

Er ... yeah ... he's all right,' said Ron gruffly. 'Well, come on then, let's get in..." He looked slightly apprehensive as he got into the carts. Hermione was explaining further to him what thestrals were.

"So, all of you have seen death?" he asked. We all nodded. He didn't enquire further, so we were grateful. We continued in silence but it was broken by a gasp from Annabeth once she saw the castle. I wasn't interested in architecture, but had to admit it was beautiful architecture. The castle was expertly made. Percy was even paying attention to Annabeth's lecture, which was probably a first. We quickly dismounted and split up from The Golden Trio. We joined the first years, before some intimidating doors. Professor McGonogal, who was a witch not to be messed with walked up to us and whispered

"Demigods, now you will be sorted, right after the first years." She sternly whispered. Then she walked off to usher the first years into the Great Hall. I looked at my friends, but couldn't keep the nervousness at bay. We were going to get sorted.

 **BOOM WE HIT 1000 VIEWS! YEA BUDDY! Really long chapter to celebrate and also a thank you and an apology for not uploading earlier. I have an excuse. I couldn't upload because I was out shopping. I spent a long time on this chapter, please can I get some positive feedback. Next chapter will be the sorting. Read and Review, we hit 5 reviews, thanks FieryGirl101 and ClearcloudofRiverHuffle. Also shoutout to two guests, who reviewed as well. Thanks! 1000 Views means a lot.**

 **~RedGods**


	10. The Sorting Ceremony

**Chapter 10: Percy**

Frankly, Hogwarts was a beautiful piece of architecture. Annabeth was transfixed by the castle and it's magnificent structure. Even I was impressed. Annabeth leaned over and began to whisper in my ear the structures and all the architectural terms about the castle. For once, since it was important to know and I was actually interested. For once, I listened to Annabeth's lecture. I mentally chided myself, _Percy, you might be learning things, stop!_ I silently observed and gained knowledge about this. Everyone was staring at the castle in awe and the rest of the trip was silent, except for the rhythmic movement of the coach. We were informed by Harry that we would have to be sorted into different houses, Gryffindor for the brave, Hufflepuff for the loyal, Ravenclaw for the smart, and Slytherin for the cunning. However, Harry said that there wasn't a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. I hoped and prayed that none of us got sorted into Slytherin, as the Slytherin and Gryffindor students loathed each other on principle and it would impede the quest if any were sorted in Slytherin.

We separated from the Golden Trio and followed the first years into the forum. We were stood before two great oak doors. We saw a stern-looking witch which I assumed was Professor McGonagall, the only other witch or wizard, other than Professor Dumbledore, who knew of us being demigods. She was scouring the room, and her eyes finally landed on us. She assumed a stern smile and walked towards us, wading through the sea of first years. Once she reached us, she whispered to us

"Demigods, now you will be sorted, right after the first years." She sternly whispered. Then she walked off to usher the first years into the Great Hall. I glanced at my friends and saw nervousness reflected in all their faces. According to Fred and George, being sorted would be a dangerous process. You would have to show your magical skills and then the teachers would judge you. According to Harry however, a hat would be placed on your head, and it would read your mind and put you in a house. I personally believed Harry as Fred and George were like Leo, always trying to joke around and mislead you. Professor McGonagall then returned and ushered us into the hall. Everyone looked flustered and I grabbed Annabeth's hand. I squeezed her hand and she gave me a kiss just as we walked in. We felt every head in the Great Hall turn towards us, but a dirty old hat became a slight distraction by bursting into song.

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

'Together we will build and teach!'

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might some day be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, sorry tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest. '

Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name, '

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,

And treat them just the same. '

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for a while it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with duelling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last there came c morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the Sorting Hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether Sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you ...

Let the Sorting now begin. 

The Hat became motionless once more; applause broke out, though it was punctured with muttering and whispers. Perhaps it was due to the hat giving a warning right at the end of the song. The sorting began, just as Harry described it with students having the hat placed on their head and then shouting the house they were placed in. The sorting began with

"Abercrombie, Euan." A terrified-looking boy stumbled forwards and put the Hat on his head; it was only prevented from falling right down to his shoulders by his very prominent ears. The Hat considered for a moment, then the rip near the brim opened again and shouted:

"Gryffindor!" Gryffindor house stood up and applauded the boy as he sat down at the table. Slowly, the long line of first years thinned and more and more people were becoming aware to our presence at the back of the Great Hall. Finally,

"Zeller, Rose" was called and Dumbledore stood up. His booming voice echoed around the room and his eyes twinkled with happiness.

"Yes, a brilliant sorting I might add. Now, many of you have noticed the seven older students standing at the back of the hall. These are American Exchange Students, coming from _Mr Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted._ They shall be sorted momentarily. They will all be joining fifth year classes and I hope that you will show them the hospitality of Hogwarts. Let the sorting restart!" Dumbledore chuckled and sat back down. McGonagall returned with another list and began to read our names.

"Chase, Annabeth," she recited. I gave Annabeth a kiss for luck and she walked up.

 **Annabeth:**

"Yes, a brilliant sorting I might add. Now, many of you have noticed the seven older students standing at the back of the hall. These are American Exchange Students, coming from _Mr Brunner's Academy for the Magically Gifted._ They shall be sorted momentarily. They will all be joining fifth year classes and I hope that you will show them the hospitality of Hogwarts. Let the sorting restart!" Dumbledore chuckled and sat back down. McGonagall returned with another list and began to read our names.

"Chase, Annabeth," she recited. I turned and gave Percy an uncomfortable look. He gave me a quick kiss for luck and I started my walk up to the hat. I looked up and saw a starry night, I assumed that it was just magically projected onto the roof of the castle. It was quite extraordinary. I sat down on the three-legged stool and the hat was propped onto my head.

" _Hello."_ A voice spoke in my mind. I assumed it was the sorting hat and replied into the hat.

"I assume you are the hat that sorts me."

" _You assume correctly young demigod. It has been centuries since I sorted one of your kind. Let's see, Daughter of Athena, very good mind, but cunning to. Hubris as your fatal flaw, very ambitious. Wishes to see a monument to last a thousand years. Exceedingly brave and loyal too. Been on multiple near death quests. Retrieved the Athena Parthenos and survived Tartarus. Hmmmm. Eligible for Gryffindor, Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Your main qualities are bravery and intelligence. It's a tough choice. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. You would be able to protect Harry Potter in both. To reach your full potential I would say."_

"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table exploded with cheers and I made my way over there. I sent Percy an apologetic look as I believed he wouldn't make it. I immediately acquainted myself with a few Ravenclaw girls, who I thought to be called, Cho Chang and Padma Patil. The Great Hall calmed down and McGonagall read the next name.

"Grace, Jason!"

 **Jason:**

The Sorting Hat spent about three minutes sorting Annabeth, I was mentally preparing myself for it aswell. Soon, the hat called out, announcing Annabeth's house

"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table exploded with cheers, but I saw Percy's face fall. Annabeth also shot Percy an apologetic look, they both knew that Percy probably wouldn't get into Ravenclaw. McGonagall called the next name on the list. It was mine

"Grace, Jason!" I slowly walked up to the stool. I was vaguely aware of everyone's eyes on me, specifically the girls. I turned around and saw Piper shooting a death glare towards all the girls that were watching me with a dazed expression on their face. I looked over my shoulder and shot Piper a grin, her expression softened, but she didn't stop glaring. I walked over onto the stool and sat down. I instantly heard a voice in my ear, that I thought must be the Sorting Hat.

" _Another demigod eh? Hmmmm… Son of Jupiter, former Praetor of the Twelfth Legion Fulminata. Current Pontifex Maximus of Camp Jupiter. Smart, but I don't think Ravenclaw will suit you. Possibly Slytherin? You are very ambitious when it comes to the gods, but not that cunning. Slytherin would be a mistake. Hufflepuff? You are very loyal and extremely hard working. You are very noble and always do the right thing. Hufflepuff would suit you. However, your bravery might trump that. Extremely brave. Always selfless, ready to die for your friends. War Leader of Camp Jupiter. Champion of Juno, there can be no doubt in my mind now."_

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table erupted with cheers and I made my way towards them. I managed to find a seat next to Harry and Hermione as many of the other Gryffindor students seemed unwilling to sit next to him. The Great Hall became eerily quiet. McGonagall called the next name,

"Jackson, Percy!"

 **Percy:**

I knew my name was next, but that didn't stop the nerves from coming. I could fight a war, but this sorting still made me nervous. McGonagall called my name next.

"Jackson, Percy!" I walked up the lane and I felt all the eyes on me. I glanced around and saw all the girls with their eyes glazed over and drool leaking out of their mouths. The attention made me self-conscious and I glanced at Annabeth. She was glaring at all the people she could and every single time, her eyes made contact with a girl, they paled and stopped staring. I smiled at her and she gave a grin in return. I walked up to the stool and the Sorting Hat was slipped onto my head.

" _Another demigod? How many of you are there?"_

"After me? Four more." I stated

" _Huh, Okay, sifting through all these memories is hard. Oh Wow! You live a very dangerous life. Son of Poseidon, subject of two great prophecies. Many achievements. Intelligent, but hopelessly naïve, Ravenclaw is out of the picture. Quite cunning, but not ambitious, happy with what you have. Quite stubborn, Slytherin is out aswell. Hmmm… you are extremely loyal and hard-working. Loyalty is your fatal flaw, and it gets you in trouble multiple times. You never give up on your friends. You are even loyal to the gods, even though they tried to kill you multiple times. Gave up immortality for your love, Annabeth, extremely loyal. However, Gryffindor equally suits you. Your bravery is immense and your loyalty feeds into your bravery. You slayed the minotaur when your mother's life hung in the balance. You sailed the Sea of Monsters to rescue a friend. You traveled half way across America to rescue Annabeth. You plunged into the Labyrinth for a ques. You fought in two different wars to defend your home and save the world. You even fell into Tartarus to protect to girl you love. You are the Saviour of Olympus and you are a Hero of Olympus. But, your fatal flaw is loyalty. So where to put you? Hufflepuff or Gryffindor?"_

The hat stayed silent for another five minutes, staying quiet for that long was hard.

" _Yes, okay, there can be no doubt in my mind now. It better be,"_

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat boomed. I stood up and was greeted by a tumultuous applause from the Gryffindor table. Everyone was staring at me, possibly because I took so long to get sorted. I slid next to Jason and fist bumped him. I also greeted Harry, Hermione and Ron, who looked happy that I had joined them. McGonagall called up the next person.

"Levesque, Hazel."

 **Hazel:**

Percy took so long to get sorted. I actually got worried that the hat wouldn't sort him, but finally, after about ten or fifteen minutes the hat shouted

"GRYFFINDOR!" and the Gryffindor table exploded. I knew _mine_ was next and I prepared myself.

"Levesque, Hazel." Truth be told, I was really nervous. I forced it down, squeezed Frank's hand and walked up to the stool with an air of false confidence. The hat was put on my head and I heard the hat's voice in my ear.

" _Only four more demigods to go. Hazel Levesque, you're supposed to be dead, daughter of Pluto. but you're not. Intelligent, but not Ravenclaw material. You go with the flow, you can control the mist, so you're slightly cunning, but Slytherin isn't for you. You have no ambitions of grandeur, so Slytherin and Ravenclaw are out. You are very brave, fighting the giant Alcyoneus, and being able to tame Arion. You even gave up Elysium for your mother, very brave. But you are exceedingly loyal. You took Frank's lifeline and protected it with your life. You would never hurt your friends and use your abilities to best help your friends. I think that the house for you is…"_

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table stood up and cheered for me as I wandered over. The applause died down quickly as McGonagall called the next name.

"McLean, Piper."

 **Piper:**

Jason and Percy were in Gryffindor, Annabeth was in Ravenclaw and Hazel was in Hufflepuff. I hated to stand out. I hoped that I would be with one of them. My nervousness doubled when McGonagall called my name

"McLean, Piper!" She called. I walked over towards the stool. I hated being the center of attention and I felt the stare of many boys on my back. I turned to Jason and grinned at him. He was currently glaring at a few boys who were shooting me looks. When he saw me grinning, he grinned back, but quickly returned back to glaring and a blond boy from Hufflepuff. The hat was placed on my head and I heard the hat's voice in my ear.

" _Only three more demigods to go. Well, Piper McLean, Daughter of Aphrodite. Hmmm… You are intelligent, but lack wisdom. You are also not cunning, nor are you ambitious. You prefer to sit out, use your charmspeak. Beat your enemies using subtlety and guile. You are brave and extremely loyal. You would do anything to protect your friends, and you love them with all your heart. Using this it better be."_

"HUFFLEPUFF!" I got up and followed Hazel's path to the Hufflepuff table. I sat next to her and gave her a hug. I was so busy talking to Hazel that I didn't hear McGonagall. I just saw Leo bounce up to the front.

 **Leo:**

"Valdez, Leo." I heard McGonagall say my name and I bounced up to the stool. I winked at all the girls casting me looks and started flexing. I stopped and decided I better get up there quick. I got onto the stool and the hat flopped on my head.

" _Leo Valdez. Only two more demigods to go. Son of Heph_ aestus, Supreme Commander of the Argo II. _You are very brave, loyal, intelligent and cunning._ However, your cunning and your _loyalty aren't what define you. So I believe Slytherin and Hufflepuff are out. You sacrificed yourself to save everyone you know to defeat Gaia. That was extremely brave of you Leo. You put your heart and soul into the Argo II and put yourself in harms way to ensure your friends safety. However, I believe that intelligence is your main characteristic. You are an inventor at heart and your use of inventions benefited The Seven in so many different ways. Your knowledge of logistics and machinery helped save Rome and helped on your quests. Your house must be…"_

"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table cheered loudly for me and I traced the path that Annabeth took and sat down next to her. I waited patiently for Mr. Zhang the shapeshifter to be called. I couldn't wait to see what house he would be in.

 **Frank:**

I was the last person to get sorted. Yippee! I was worried about what house I would get sorted in. I really wanted to be in one of the houses with my friends. I didn't want to be in Slytherin. That would even harm the quest, I wanted to help as much as possible. McGonagall called my name

"Zhang, Frank!" and I sent a silent prayer to my dad to help me.

I walked up to the stool and sat down. The Sorting Hat was placed over my head and I heard it's voice in my ear.

"FINALLY! THE LAST DEMIGOD! THIS IS PAINFUL, SIFTING THROUGH SO MANY HORRIBLE MEMORIES! _Frank Zhang. Son of Mars, but also descendant of Poseidon, ooooh. Shapeshifter. Praetor of the Twelfth Legion. Your life even depends on a burnt stick. You are cunning, but not intelligent. So Ravenclaw is out. Loyalty is very important to you, but you aren't well-coordinated and not that hard-working, so Hufflepuff is out. Mars gifts you battle instincts and you come up with cunning plans. However, Mars also gives you bravery. You were willing to die to free Thanatos, showing your true bravery. You also used your shape-shifting and battle powers to save Hazel, and you are as brave as they come. You Frank Zhang are a…"_

"GRYFFINDOR!" I grinned and walked to Percy and Jason at the Gryffindor. We gave each other a quick hug and turned to face Dumbledore. Dumbledore faced us and I swear that he gave us a tiny wink.

"Now, that the sorting has officially completed, let the feast begin!" He boomed. The plates around the hall were all loaded with food and Percy's eyes bulged to the size of drachmas. He got as much food on his plate as he could, and started devouring it. Jason and I followed suit and very soon, we were too full to eat. Same with Percy. When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the Headmaster.

'Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices,' said Dumbledore. 'First-years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students-and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too.' (Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged smirks.) _They must be troublemakers._ I thought. But I ignored it

'Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr. Filch's office door.

'We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.'

There was a round of polite but fairly unenthusiastic applause, during which Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks; their behavior was quite weird. I wondered what they were expectingDumbledore continued, 'Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the-'

He broke off, looking enquiringly at Professor Umbridge. As she was not much taller standing than sitting, there was a moment when nobody understood why Dumbledore had stopped talking, but then Professor Umbridge cleared her throat, 'Hem, hem,' and it became clear that she had got to her feet and was intending to make a speech.

Dumbledore only looked taken aback for a moment, then he sat down smartly and looked alertly at Professor Umbridge as though he desired nothing better than to listen to her talk. Other members of staff were not as adept at hiding their surprise. Professor Sprout's eyebrows had disappeared into her flyaway hair and Professor McGonagall's mouth was as thin as I had ever seen it. No new teacher had ever interrupted Dumbledore before. Many of the students were smirking; this woman obviously did not know how things were done at Hogwarts.

'Thank you, Headmaster,' Professor Umbridge simpered, 'for those kind words of welcome.'

Her voice was high-pitched, breathy and little-girlish and, again, I felt a powerful rush of dislike that Icould not explain to myself; all he knew was that he loathed everything about her, from her stupid voice to her fluffy pink cardigan. Percy and Jason were also scowling in her direction. Annabeth, Leo, Piper, Hazel, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were also staring at her, with an expression of loathing. She gave another little throat-clearing cough ('hem, hem') and continued.

'Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say!' She smiled, revealing very pointed teeth. 'And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!'

I glanced around. None of the faces he could see looked happy. On the contrary, they all looked rather taken-aback at being addressed as though they were five years old.

'I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!'

Students exchanged looks at this; some of them were barely concealing grins.

'I'll be her friend as long as I don't have to borrow that cardigan,' two girls next to me whispered, and both of them lapsed into silent giggles.

Professor Umbridge cleared her throat again ('hem, hem'), but when she continued, some of the breathiness had vanished from her voice. She sounded much more businesslike and now her words had a dull learned-by-heart sound to them.

The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching.'

Professor Umbridge paused here and made a little bow to her fellow staff members, none of whom bowed back to her. Professor McGonagall's dark eyebrows had contracted so that she looked positively hawklike, and I distinctly saw her exchange a significant glance with Professor Sprout as Umbridge gave another little 'hem, hem' and went on with her speech.

'Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation ...'

I was extremely bored found his attentiveness ebbing, as though his brain was slipping in and out of tune. Percy and Jason's eyes had glazed over and they were staring blankly into space. The quiet that always filled the Hall when Dumbledore was speaking was breaking up as students put their heads together, whispering and giggling. Over on the Ravenclaw table Cho Chang was chatting animatedly with her friends. A few seats along from Cho, Luna Lovegood had got out The Quibbler again. Annabeth was talking with Leo with a serious expression on her , at the Hufflepuff table Ernie Macmillan was one of the few still staring at Professor Umbridge, but he was glassy-eyed and I was sure he was only pretending to listen in an attempt to live up to the new prefect's badge gleaming on his chest. Piper and Hazel had started talking absent-mindedly about something that I had no idea about.

Professor Umbridge did not seem to notice the restlessness of her audience. I had the impression that a full-scale riot could have broken out under her nose and she would have ploughed on with her speech. The teachers, however, were still listening very attentively, and Hermione seemed to be drinking in every word Umbridge spoke, though, judging by her expression, they were not at all to her taste.

'... because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited.'

She sat down. Dumbledore clapped. The staff followed his lead, though I noticed that several of them brought their hands together only once or twice before stopping. A few students joined in, but most had been taken unawares by the end of the speech, not having listened to more than a few words of it, and before they could start applauding properly, Dumbledore had stood up again.

'Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating,' he said, bowing to her. 'Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held ...'

'Yes, it certainly was illuminating,' said Hermione in a low voice.

'You're not telling me you enjoyed it?' Ron said quietly, turning a glazed face towards Hermione. 'That was about the dullest speech I've ever heard, and I grew up with Percy.' Percy snapped his head around and glared at Ron. "Not you Percy, like my brother Percy."

'I said illuminating, not enjoyable,' said Hermione. 'It explained a lot.'

'Did it?' said Jason in surprise. 'Sounded like a load of waffle to me.'

There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle,' said Hermione grimly.

'Was there?' said Ron blankly.

'How about: "progress for progress's sake must be discouraged"? How about: "pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited"?'

'Well, what does that mean?' said Ron impatiently.

'I'll tell you what it means,' said Hermione through gritted teeth. 'It means the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts.' We were all deep in conversation that we hadn't noticed that Dumbledore had dismissed the school and everyone was leaving their seats. I signed to Hazel and shot her a look, We need to talk. She nodded like she understood and whispered something to Piper, who also nodded. Hermione's eyebrows shot up and whispered to Ron, something about prefect duties. They hurried off and Hermione shouted

"First Years! First years follow me." Ron grumbled and followed her example, calling out to the first years. Harry, Jason, Percy and I remained at the table, while the rest of the Seven walked towards us.

"Guys? Did you understand that speech?" Piper asked. Everyone shook their head except Annabeth who recited

"The Ministry of Magic is interfering at Hogwarts. They're trying to do something to change the school." Percy turned around and looked at Harry, didn't you say that Umbridge woman was at your hearing?

"Yeah, she works for Fudge, the Ministry is trying to change something." Annabeth caught the eye of the last few students leaving the great hall and exclaimed

"Everyone, get to your dormitories, we'll talk about this tomorrow." She turned to run, but Percy caught her and kissed her. They hugged and she and Leo ran off. The rest of us ran off in our intended directions as well. We walked up many moving staircases and through empty upstairs corridors. The few people we did see pointed and whispered in Harry's direction, and Harry seemed to be containing his anger as he marched up. Harry finally stopped in front of a picture of an enormous fat lady, according to Harry who was called _The Fat Lady._

"Password?" She inquired

"Errr…, I don't know the password." Harry replied.

"No password, no entry." She said, loftily.

"Guys! I know it!" Someone panted behind us and we turned to see Neville jogging towards him.

"Guess what it is?" He panted. We all shrugged and he responded. "Mimblus Mimbletonia!" He shouted, towards the Fat Lady.

"Correct." She swung open, revealing a circular hole in the wall and we all climbed in. The Gryffindor common room looked very comfortable, with cosy armchairs littered around the room and a fire, flickering warmly by the fireplace. Ron came down and greeted up.

"Guys, you three will be sharing with us. It's Neville, Seamus, Dean, Harry, Me, Percy, Jason, and Frank!" Ron said, beaming.

"Perfect!" Harry exclaimed. We followed them up the stairs. We entered the dormitory and saw eight spacious beds, looking extremely comfortable littered about the room.

"Am I seeing double? Or are there two Harrys? Except one's more muscular?" The black haired boy said. Percy laughed,

"No. I'm Percy Jackson, this is Jason Grace and this is Frank Zhang." He said, indicating each of us. "I assume you're Dean, and you're Seamus?" They both nodded and welcomed us in.

 **Harry:**

'Hey, Harry,' said Dean, who was putting on a pair of pyjamas in the West Ham colours. 'Good holiday?'

'Not bad,' I muttered, as a true account of his holiday would have taken most of the night to relate and I could not face it. 'You?'

'Yeah, it was OK,' chuckled Dean. 'Better than Seamus's, anyway, he was just telling me.'

'Why, what happened, Seamus?' Neville asked as he placed his Mimbuius mimbletonia tenderly on his bedside cabinet.

Seamus did not answer immediately; he was making rather a meal of ensuring that his poster of the Kenmare Kestrels Quidditch team was quite straight. Then he said, with his back still turned to Harry, 'Me mam didn't want me to come back.'

'What?' said Harry, pausing in the act of pulling off his robes.

'She didn't want me to come back to Hogwarts.'

Seamus turned away from his poster and pulled his own pyjamas out of his trunk, still not looking at me.

'But-why?' I said, astonished. He knew that Seamus's mother was a witch and could not understand, therefore, why she should have come over so Dursleyish.

Seamus did not answer until he had finished buttoning his pyjamas.

'Well,' he said in a measured voice, 'I suppose ... because of you.'

'What d'you mean?' I said quickly.

My heart was beating rather fast. I felt vaguely as though something was closing in on him.

'Well,' said Seamus again, still avoiding my eye, she ... er ... well, it's not just you, it's Dumbledore, too ...'

'She believes the Daily Prophet?' I said. 'She thinks I'm a liar and Dumbledore's an old fool?'

Seamus looked up at me

'Yeah, something like that.'

I said nothing. I threw my wand down on to his bedside table, pulled off my robes, stuffed them angrily into my trunk and pulled on my pyjamas. I was sick of it: sick of being the person who is stared at and talked about all the time. If any of them knew, if any of them had the faintest idea what it felt like to be the one all these things had happened to ... Mrs. Finnigan had no idea, the stupid woman, I thought savagely. Jason, Frank and Percy stared at us blankly, watching the conversation unfold.

I got into bed and made to pull the hangings closed around him, but before he could do so, Seamus said, 'Look ... what did happen that night when ... you know, when ... with Cedric Diggory and all?'

Seamus sounded nervous and eager at the same time. Dean, who had been bending over his trunk trying to retrieve a slipper, went oddly still and I knew he was listening hard.

'What are you asking me for?' I retorted. 'Just read the Daily Prophet like your mother, why don't you? That'll tell you all you need to know.'

'Don't you have a go at my mother,' Seamus snapped.

'I'll have a go at anyone who calls me a liar,' I said

'Don't talk to me like that!'

'I'll talk to you how I want,' I said, my temper rising so fast that I snatched my wand back from my bedside table. 'If you've got a problem sharing a dormitory with me, go and ask McGonagall if you can be moved ... stop your mummy worrying- '

'Leave my mother out of this, Potter!'

"STOP!" Ron shouted.

'He's having a go at my mother!' Seamus yelled.

"Serves you right for believing the damned Prophet Seamus!"

'You know what?' said Seamus heatedly, casting me a venomous look. 'He's right, I don't want to share a dormitory with him any more, he's mad.'

'That's out of order, Seamus,' said Ron, whose ears were starting to glow red-always a danger sign.

'Out of order, am I?' shouted Seamus, who in contrast with Ron was going pale. 'You believe all the rubbish he's come out with about You-Know-Who, do you, you reckon he's telling the truth?'

'Yeah, I do!' said Ron angrily. Percy, Jason, and Frank also rushed to my defence.

"He's telling the truth Seamus, you have to believe him." Seamus scowled at them,

'Then you're all mad, too,' said Seamus in disgust.

'Yeah? Well, unfortunately for you, pal, I'm also a prefect!' said Ron, jabbing himself in the chest with a finger. 'So unless you want detention, watch your mouth!'

Seamus looked for a few seconds as though detention would be a reasonable price to pay to say what was going through his mind; but with a noise of contempt he turned on his heel, vaulted into bed and pulled the hangings shut with such violence that they were ripped from the bed and fell in a dusty pile to the floor. Ron glared at Seamus, then looked at Dean and Neville.

'Anyone else's parents got a problem with Harry?' he said aggressively. Dean shook his head and replied

"My parents are muggles, mate. I'm not stupid enough to tell them what's going on."

"My gran says that the Prophet's the one going downhill, not Dumbledore, we believe you Harry." My heart swelled with pride and I nodded in Neville's direction

"Thanks." Nobody else said anything after that. The Americans also unpacked in silence and flopped onto the bed aswell. I heard their faint snoring, realizing they had rocked off to sleep almost instantly. I lay back on my pillows while Ron bustled around the next bed, putting his things away. I fell, shaken by the argument with Seamus, whom I had always liked very much. How many more people were going to suggest that I was lying, or unhinged?

Had Dumbledore suffered like this all summer, as first the Wizengamot, then the International Confederation of Wizards had thrown him from their ranks? Was it anger at me, perhaps, that had stopped Dumbledore getting in touch with him for months? The two of them were in this together, after all; Dumbledore had believed me, announced his version of events to the whole school and then to the wider wizarding community. Anyone who thought I was a liar had to think that Dumbledore was, too. I continued to think about it until at some point I must've fallen asleep. I was worried for what the next day would hold.

 **There, the chapter you have all been waiting for. The Sorting Ceremony!**

 **Let's recap**

 **Annabeth: Ravenclaw, for her wit and intelligence. I almost put her in Slytherin, but I felt that her wisdom trumped her cunning.**

 **Jason: Gryffindor, he is brave right to the very end. Possibly Hufflepuff? But he's the son of Jupiter, he is extremely brave, that beats his hard-working attitude.**

 **Percy: Gryffindor. I almost put him in Hufflepuff. So nearly. I had to rewrite a bit as I initially put him in Hufflepuff. I ended him in Gryffindor as his loyalty feeds into his bravery and therefore, strengthens it. It was really close between the two though.**

 **Hazel: Hufflepuff. She is extremely loyal and would risk her life for her friends. She doesn't really display an extreme case of bravery (unless you count the Doors of Death scene) so I placed her in Hufflepuff as she would do anything for her friends.**

 **Piper: Hufflepuff. I wasn't too sure about her to be honest. I decided on Hufflepuff due to the bonds she creates with all the seven, linking up with everyone. She also works hard at her task, trying everything she can to achieve her goal.**

 **Leo: Ravenclaw. He is an inventor at heart. His vast knowledge of machinery and the ability to apply this knowledge to a wide range of scenarios is what put him in Ravenclaw for me.**

 **Frank: Gryffindor. Simple, Frank could've gone anywhere. He has all the characteristics, but I settled on Gryffindor as I felt that best suited him. He was ready to kill himself for the greater good. You can't expect more than that.**

 **By the way, all of them could've made Gryffindor, I just wanted a bit of variety. I myself am a Ravenclaw, tell me what house you are in, help me out by reviewing. Let's close in on 2000 views. Love you all and see ya! By the way, I also but bits and pieces of the book in there, I am not J.K Rowling so don't kill me for copying a few pieces.**

 **~RedGods**


	11. First Day of Hogwarts

**Chapter 11: Jason**

Yesterday was an absolute fiasco, just going to a school of magic. The stinksap in the compartment. How we could see thestrals while others couldn't. The sorting. Umbridge's speech. Harry and Seamus' fued. How everyone thought that Harry was a nutter. Uhhh… it made my head hurt. I sprung out of bed to see Seamus simply run out of the room after he got his stuff. At this, Harry got quite angry.

"Does he think that he'll turn into a nutter if he stays in the same room as me for too long?" Harry asked, as Seamus ran out of the dorm.

"It's fine Harry, he'll come around." Percy whispered. Harry solemnly nodded and all of us started to put on our robes. It took a good ten minutes for Percy to put his on and it ended up with all of us laughing at him before he managed to finish. He smirked and ran down into the common room. I glanced at Frank and he shrugged like " _We might as well"_ and we hurried down after him. Harry, Ron and Neville stayed up a bit longer. We just sat around waiting for Harry to come down and we looked through our books. Harry, Ron and Hermione finally came down five minutes later. We all stood up and headed across the common room to breakfast, until Hermione abruptly stopped. She was staring resolutely at the notice board, which was adorned with a large new sign.

 **GALLONS OF GALLEONS**

 **Pocket money failing to keep up with outgoings?**

 **Like to earn a little extra gold?  
Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room, for simple, part-time, virtually painless jobs.**

 **(We regret to say that all work is undertaken at the applicant's own risk.)**

"They are the limit." Hermione muttered, furiously. Ripping the sign off the notice board.

"We have to talk to them Ron." Ron looked positively alarmed, at the fact that he would have to confront his own brothers.

"Why?"  
"Because we're prefects. It's our job to stop things like this from being a problem." She said as she walked out of the portrait hole and down a flight of stairs. She stared at Harry for a moment and said,

"What's wrong Harry? You look angry about something?"

"Seamus." I stated. "He thinks that Harry is lying about Voldemort." Ignoring Ron and Hermione's winces. Hermione composed herself and replied

"Oh. Lavender thinks so too." Harry glared at her and she quickly replied, "I told her to keep her fat mouth shut. Don't start glaring at me! In case you haven't noticed, Ron, and I are on your side. As well as the exchange students." Harry paused for a short while and then spoke,

"Sorry." He replied. We joined the Ravenclaws and followed them around. We peered around, looking for Annabeth and Leo. They finally emerged and Percy ran to kiss Annabeth. Leo, coolly walked away, not teasing them at all. Percy and Annabeth walked down, arm in arm while Leo grabbed Frank and I around the shoulders.

"Percy and Annabeth are walking arm in arm, so I might as well try to copy her." He slyly said, grinning. Frank and I both sighed and walked into the Great Hall. Leo waved us off and ran to sit with the Ravenclaws, I marched to the Hufflepuff table along with Frank, to look for our girlfriends. I waved at Piper and Hazel and they walked up to us. I gave Piper a good morning kiss and she grinned,

"How was the common room?"  
"It was quite comfortable, we're all the way up at the top, so the view is excellent."

"We're down near the kitchens, it's very cosy there." Just then her stomach rumbled. She blushed and walked off to the table to get some food. Hazel and Frank also separated and both of us sat down at the Gryffindor table. Percy was walking past with Annabeth and they both separated. Percy joined us, grinning and we began to dig in. A black haired girl approaches us and begins to talk to Harry.

"Listen, Harry, I've been made Quidditch captain."

"Nice one Angelina." Harry replied, grinning at her.

"Yeah well, Now that Oliver has left, we need a new keeper and Alicia has been injured and she can't play no matter what. She's leaving next year aswell. We need to try find a replacement. Tryouts are on Friday, Five O'Clock and I want two people who will fit well with the whole team.

"Ok. I will be there Angelina." She smiled and walked off. "Any of you trying out for the team?" He whispered.

"I am, but Percy and Frank aren't, they didn't get brooms because they didn't want to do it." Harry nodded and whispered,

"Good luck getting on the team Jason." We both dug into the remainder of our food until we heard the swoosh of hundreds of owls descending into the Great Hall. They clattered all the parcels and shook water all over the students. Some fell on Percy and he wasn't wet at first, but he reminded himself to get wet and water sloshed over his head. Hermione again gave him a calculating look and then returned to get her paper, from her owl.

"What are you still getting that for?" Harry irritably asked.

"It's best to know what the enemy is saying." She replied. She didn't emerge from her newspaper until all of us had finished and she finally told us.

"Nothing. Nothing about you or Dumbledore." Hermione was interrupted by McGonagall handing out timetables. I read the timetable.

 **Period 1: History of Magic: Professor Binns.**

 **Period 2: Potions: Professor Snape**

 **Period 3: Potions: Professor Snape**

 **Period 4: Divination: Professor Trelawny**

 **Period 5: Defence against the Dark Arts: Professor Umbridge**

 **Period 6: Defence against the Dark Arts: Professor Umbridge**

Ron read it and groaned.

"History of Magic, double Potions, Divination, and double Defence agasinst the Dark Arts. Binns, Snape, Trelawny and that Umbridge woman in one day. I wish Fred and George would hurry up with those skiving snackboxes."

"Do my ears deceive me?" Fred said as he appeared around the corner. "Does ickle Ronniekins, the prefect wish to skive off lessons?

"Look at the Monday we've got. It's the worst I've ever seen," he said shoving the timetable under Fred's nose.

"Fair point, Ron. That is a terrible Monday. If you want you can have some Nosebleed Nougat cheap."

"Why is it cheap?"

"Because you'll keep bleeding until you shrivel up, and we haven't found the antidote." George said.

"Thanks, but I'll just take the lessons instead." Ron said, depressingly.

"We've got the exact same table Ron!" I exclaimed. We swapped and he looked up, grinning.

"Yeah! This is going to be a fun day!" He shouted.

"Ron, don't keep up that attitude, fifth year is OWL year."

"So?" Ron replied.

"You've got exams coming up, you'll be scraped raw from all the studying you have to do. Half our year even had breakdowns before the exams," said Fred happily.

"Fred and I managed to stay sane though." George replied.

"Yeah… but you got like what? Three OWLS?"

"Yup, but we feel our futures lie outside the world of Academic Achievements." Fred said, happily, before slinking off to eat breakfast.

"Guys? We need to head off to lessons." Frank shouted. Percy and I stood up, shortly before the Golden Trio. We walked off to the History of Magic classroom. We met up with the rest of the seven and headed into the classroom, sitting with each other at the back. History of Magic, as it turns out, was probably the most dull subject, ever thought of by wizard kind. Annabeth, Leo, and Hermione seemed the only ones who could resist Professor Binns wheezy, droning voice. Occasionally, I managed to come out of my sleep, writing down a date or a note at some random points. An hour and a half of Binns droning on about Giant Wars was absolute torture. Percy was getting shot filthy looks by Annabeth, who had managed to take a lot of notes, along with Leo. Frank and Hazel were basically passed out. Ron and Harry were playing hangman and Piper was conked out on my shoulder. After what seemed an age, he finally stopped droning and the class came back to life. Ron, Hermione and Harry were arguing and walked out of the classroom before us. The seven of us, just followed the pack as we stepped into the damp courtyard. The Golden Trio were talking with Cho Chang, who, according to Annabeth, had a thing for Harry. She walked away after a while and Hermione resumed her shouting at Ron as we descended into the dungeons, ready for Potions. The ten of us lined up outside Snape's classroom and we were ushered in by a bat-like man, with a hawk-like nose. The ten of us occupied three tables at the back and were interrupted by Snape, addressing the class.

"Settle down." He said, coldly. I felt a rush of dislike towards this professor.

'Before we begin today's lesson,' said Snape, sweeping over to his desk and staring around at them all, 'I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions. Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an "Acceptable" in your OWL, or suffer my ... displeasure.'

His gaze lingered this time on Neville, who gulped.

'After this year, of course, many of you will cease studying with me,' Snape went on. 'I take only the very best into my NEWT Potions class, which means that some of us will certainly be saying goodbye.'

His eyes rested on Harry and his lip curled. Harry glared back, trying to not blink. Snape slowly turned away, again, addressing the class.  
'But we have another year to go before that happy moment of farewell,' said Snape softly, 'so, whether or not you are intending to attempt NEWT, I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high pass level I have come to expect from my OWL students. As for you American students, just because you are new at Hogwarts and may be terrible, don't expect any leniency.' He said, his gaze resting now on Percy. Percy glared at him and Snape averted his eyes.

'Today we will be mixing a potion that often comes up at Ordinary Wizarding Level: the Draught of Peace, a potion to calm anxiety and soothe agitation. Be warned: if you are too heavy-handed with the ingredients you will put the drinker into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep, so you will need to pay close attention to what you are doing.' Annabeth straightened, and listened to Snape with rapt attention.

The ingredients and method-' Snape flicked his wand '-are on the blackboard-(they appeared there) '-you will find everything you need-' he flicked his wand again '-in the store cupboard-' (the door of the said cupboard sprang open) '-you have an hour and a half ... start.'

Snape had set them an extremely difficult potion. All the ingredients had to be added with the right quantities. The mixture had to be stirred a specific amount of times; and the heat of the flames that the potion was simmering on, had to be lowered to the exact level for a specific amount of time, before the final ingredients were added.

"A light silver vapour should now be rising from your potion." Snape called, with ten minutes left. I looked around the room, my potion was issuing copious amounts of dark gray steam. Piper's solution was purple, while Hazel and Frank's were both dark green. Ron's was spitting green sparks. Leo's was a dark blue. However, Annabeth, Percy and Hermione's was shimmering with light, silver vapour. Ron swept past theirs, without comment, meaning that there was nothing wrong. His lip curled at Frank and Hazel's potion. He glared and Piper and mine. However, at Harry's he paused and asked.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" Harry gritted his teeth and responded,

"The Draught of Peace."

"Tell me, Potter, can you read?"

"Yes, professor."

"Read the third line of instructions for me Potter." Harry read them, but his face remained impassive.

"Did you do everything on the third line?"

"No. I forgot the hellebore."

"I know you did, Potter, so this is worthless. Evanesco."

The contents of Harry's potion vanished and Snape walked back to the front.

"Those of you, who read the instructions, fill one flagon of the potion, and label it. Bring it up to my desk for marking. Homework is, twelve inches on the uses of moonstone in potion-making, to be handed in on Tuesday. Everyone filled their flagons and walked up to the front. We waited until the bell rang and we made for the door. We all rushed to the great hall, and we all ate Lunch with gusto. We finished quickly and hurried to the North Tower for Divination. Harry was already there and Ron made his way over to him. The tables were set for two and we divided. Percy and Annabeth. Piper and Me. Hazel and Frank. Ron and Harry. Leo, paired up with some random Ravenclaw.

"Good-day class." A mystical voice said. "Welcome American Students, and welcome back to Divination to older students.

"You will find on your tables, copies of the Dream Oracle, by Inigo Imago.Dream interpretation is a most important means of divining the future and one that may very probably be tested in your OWL. Not, of course, that I believe examination passes or failures are of the remotest importance when it comes to the sacred art of divination. If you have the Seeing Eye, certificates and grades matter very little. However, the Headmaster likes you to sit the examination, so ..."

Her voice trailed away delicately, leaving them all in no doubt that Professor Trelawney considered her subject above such sordid matters as examinations. The seven of us were suppressing laughs. Trelawny, was obviously a fake, nothing like Rachel back at Camp.

"Turn, please, to the introduction and read what Imago has to say on the matter of dream interpretation. Then, divide into pairs. Use The Dream Oracle to interpret each other's most recent dreams. Carry on."

We carried on willy-nilly, interpreting each other's dreams while Trelawny walked around advising each of us. She stopped when she got to Percy and Annabeth. She took a deep, rasping breath and carried, on, as if in a Trance.

 _You shall go west, and face the god who has turned,_

 _You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned,_

 _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,_

 _And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end._ She drew a raspy breath then continued.

 _You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,_

 _You shall find what you seek and make it your own,_

 _But despair for your life entombed within stone,_

 _And fail without friends, to fly home alone_

 _Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

 _The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

 _Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

 _The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _And one shall perish by a parent's hand._

 _You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze,_

 _The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise._

 _You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand,_

 _The Child of Athena's final stand._

 _Destroy with a hero's final breath,_

 _And lose a love to worse than death._

 _A Half-Blood of the eldest gods,_

 _Shall reach sixteen against all odds,_

 _And see the world in endless sleep._

 _The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap,_

 _A single choice shall end his days,_

 _Olympus to preserve or raze._

 _Child of Lightning, beware the earth,_

 _The giants' revenge the seven shall birth,_

 _The forge and dove shall break the cage,_

 _And death unleash, through Hera's rage_

 _"Go to Alaska._

 _Find Thanatos and free him._

 _Come back by sundown on June twenty-fourth or die."_

 _"To the north, beyond the gods, lies the legion's crown._

 _Falling from ice, the son of Neptune shall drown."_

 _"Wisdom's daughter walks alone,_

 _The Mark of Athena burns through Rome._

 _Twins snuff out the angel's breath,_

 _Who holds the key to endless death._

 _Giants' bane stands gold and pale,_

 _Won through pain from a woven jail."_

 _Seven half-bloods shall answer the call._

 _To storm or fire, the world must fall._

 _An oath to keep with a final breath,_

 _And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death._

All of us were stumped. We gazed at Trelawny in shock and horror. She had recited every prophecy. The First, second, third and fourth quest that Percy had been on. The first great prophecy. The child of lightning one. The Alaska quest one. The son of Neptune one. The Mark of Athena one. Even the second great prophecy. The wizards were staring at Trelawny with confusion. But, the demigods, were extremely worried. Trelawny, choked and spluttered, coming out of her trance. She gazed around at us and replied

"What are you all staring at? I just started day-dreaming." We all kept quiet and left the tower as soon as we could. We huddled into a corner and decided to talk about what happened. Annabeth broke the silence.

"Guys, Trelawny spoke every prophecy, like every one that each of us had been a part of."

"Anyone else think that she's a fraud?" Piper asked Everyone else shook their head.

"We need to tread carefully, what if she somehow spills who we really are?" Percy asked.

"We also need to think about the possibility, that she might predict something about this." Annabeth reasoned. We were about to discuss further when Harry barged in.

"Guys! We need to get to Defence Against the Dark Arts." When we were walking down, Ron and Harry grumbled to us.

"You do realise how much homework we already got. Binns set us a foot-and-a-half-long essay, Snape wants a foot on Moonstones, and we just got a month's dream oracle from Trelawny. Fred and George weren't kidding about OWL year, were they? Umbridge better not give us any." Ron reasoned.

"When we all entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, we found Umbridge, already seated at the teacher's desk. She was wearing the exact same fluffy pink cardigan of the night before. She even had a purple bow on. This gave her the appearance of an extremely flabby toad.

The class was quiet as it entered the room; Professor Umbridge was, as yet, an unknown quantity and nobody knew how strict a disciplinarian she was likely to be.

'Well, good afternoon!' she said, when finally the whole class had sat down.

A few people mumbled 'good afternoon' in reply.

'Tut, tut,' said Professor Umbridge. 'That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply "Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge". One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!'

'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge,' they chanted back at her.

'There, now,' said Professor Umbridge sweetly. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please.'

Many of the class exchanged gloomy looks; the order 'wands away' had never yet been followed by a lesson they had found interesting. I stuffed my wand back into my pocket. I gloomily looked up, I was looking forward to using a lot of magic. Professor Umbridge opened her handbag, extracted her own wand, which was an unusually short one, and tapped the blackboard sharply with it; words appeared on the board at once:

Defence Against the Dark Arts

A Return to Basic Principles

'Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?' stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year.

'You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please.'

She rapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by:

Course Aims:  
1\. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

2\. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used

3\. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

For a couple of minutes the room was full of the sound of scratching quills on parchment. When everyone had copied down Professor Umbridge's three course aims she asked, 'Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?'

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class.

'I think we'll try that again,' said Professor Umbridge. 'When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, "Yes, Professor Umbridge", or "No, Professor Umbridge". So: has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?'

'Yes, Professor Umbridge,' rang through the room. I felt my dislike of her to rise.

'Good,' said Professor Umbridge. 'I should like you to turn to page five and read "Chapter One, Basics for Beginners". There will be no need to talk.'

Professor Umbridge left the blackboard and settled herself in the chair behind the teacher's desk, observing them all closely with those pouchy toad's eyes. I turned to page five of his copy of Defensive Magical Theory and started to read.

It was desperately dull, quite as bad as listening to Professor Binns. I felt my concentration sliding away from me; I had soon read the same line half a dozen times without taking in more than the first few words. Several silent minutes passed. Next to him, Percy was absent-mindedly turning his quill over and over in his fingers, staring at the same spot on the page. I looked right and received a surprise to shake him out of his torpor. Hermione and Annabeth had both not even opened her copy of Defensive Magical Theory. Annabeth, who never passed up the opportunity to read was staring resolutely at Umbridge, along with Hermione.

I looked at Annabeth enquiringly, but she merely shook her head slightly to indicate that she was not about to answer questions, and continued to stare at Professor Umbridge, who was looking just as resolutely in another direction. Percy also stared at her with an expression of shock. Annabeth never passed up the chance to not read.

After a few minutes, I was not the only one watching Hermione and Annabeth.. The chapter they had been instructed to read was so tedious that more and more people were choosing to watch their mute attempt to catch Professor Umbridge's eye rather than struggle on with 'Basics for Beginners'.

When more than half the class were staring at them rather than at their books, Professor Umbridge seemed to decide that she could ignore the situation no longer.

'Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?' she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.

'Not about the chapter, no,' said Hermione.

'Well, we're reading just now,' said Professor Umbridge, showing her small pointed teeth. 'If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class.'

'I've got a query about your course aims,' said Hermione.

Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows.

'And your name is?'

'Hermione Granger,' said Hermione.

'Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully,' said Professor Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness.

'Well, I don't,' said Hermione bluntly. 'There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells.'

There was a short silence in which many members of the class turned their heads to frown at the three course aims still written on the blackboard. Annabeth's hand was still in the air.

'Using defensive spells?' Professor Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. 'Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?'

'We're not going to use magic?' Annabeth exclaimed loudly.

'Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Miss.-?'

'Chase.' Annabeth replied.

Professor Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on her. Harry and Hermione immediately raised their hands too. Professor Umbridge's pouchy eyes lingered on Harry for a moment before she addressed Hermione.

'Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?'

'Yes,' said Hermione. 'Surely the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to practise defensive spells?'

'Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?' asked Professor Umbridge, in her falsely sweet voice.

'No, but-'

'Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the "whole point" of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new programme of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way-'

'What use is that?' said Harry loudly. 'If we're going to be attacked, it won't be in a-'

'Hand, Mr Potter!' sang Professor Umbridge.

Harry thrust his fist in the air. Again, Professor Umbridge promptly turned away from him, but now several other people had their hands up, too.

'And your name is?' Professor Umbridge said to Percy.

'Percy Jackson.'

'Well, Mr Jackson?'

'Well, it's like Harry said, isn't it?' said Percy. 'If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free.'

'I repeat,' said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Percy, 'do you expect to be attacked during my classes?'

'No, but-'

Professor Umbridge talked over him. 'I do not wish to criticise the way things have been run in this school,' she said, an unconvincing smile stretching her wide mouth, 'but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed-not to mention,' she gave a nasty little laugh, 'extremely dangerous half-breeds.'

'If you mean Professor Lupin,' piped up Dean angrily, 'he was the best we ever-

'Hand, Mr Thomas! As I was saying-you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day-'

'No we haven't,' Hermione said, 'we just-'

'Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!'

Hermione put up her hand. Professor Umbridge turned away from her.

'It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you.'

'Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?' said Dean hotly. 'Mind you, we still learned loads.'

'Your hand is not up, Mr. Thomas!' trilled Professor Umbridge. 'Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?' she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.

'Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter-curses and things?'

'As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions,' said Professor Umbridge dismissively.

'Without ever practising them beforehand?' said Parvati incredulously. 'Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?'

'I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough-'

'And what good's theory going to be in the real world?' said Harry loudly, his fist in the air again.

Professor Umbridge looked up.

'This is school, Mr. Potter, not the real world,' she said softly.

'So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?'

'There is nothing waiting out there, Mr. Potter.'

'Oh, yeah?' said Harry. His temper, which seemed to have been bubbling just beneath the surface all day, was reaching boiling point.

'Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?' enquired Professor Umbridge in a horribly honeyed voice.

'Hmm, let's think ...' said Harry in a mock thoughtful voice. 'Maybe ... Lord Voldemort?'

Ron gasped; Lavender Brown uttered a little scream; Neville slipped sideways off his stool. Professor Umbridge, however, did not flinch, along with the demigods. She was staring at Harry with a grimly satisfied expression on her face.

'Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Potter.'

The classroom was silent and still. Everyone was staring at either Umbridge or Harry.

'Now, let me make a few things quite plain.'

Professor Umbridge stood up and leaned towards them, her stubby-fingered hands splayed on her desk.

'You have been told that a certain Dark wizard has returned from the dead-'

'He wasn't dead,' said Harry angrily, 'but yeah, he's returned!'

'Mr-Potter-you-have-already-lost-your-house-ten-points-do-not-make-matters-worse-for-yourself,' said Professor Umbridge in one breath without looking at him. 'As I was saying, you have been informed that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again. This is a lie.'

'It is NOT a lie!' said Harry. 'I saw him, I fought him!'

'Detention, Mr Potter!' said Professor Umbridge triumphantly. 'Tomorrow evening. Five o'clock. My office. I repeat, this is a Ministry of Magic guarantees that you are not in danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I would like to hear about it. I am here to help. I am your friend. And now, you will kindly continue your reading. Page five, "Basics for Beginners".'

Professor Umbridge sat down behind her desk. Harry, however, stood up. Everyone was staring at him; Seamus looked half-scared, half-fascinated.

'Harry, no!' Hermione whispered in a warning voice, tugging at his sleeve, but Harry jerked his arm out of her reach.

'So, according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord, did he?' Harry asked, his voice shaking.

There was a collective intake of breath from the class, for none of them, apart from Ron and Hermione, had ever heard Harry talk about what had happened on the night Cedric had died. They stared avidly from Harry to Professor Umbridge, who had raised her eyes and was staring at him without a trace of a fake smile on her face.

'Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident,' she said coldly.

'It was murder,' said Harry. He could feel himself shaking. He had hardly spoken to anyone about this, least of all thirty eagerly listening classmates. 'Voldemort killed him and you know it.'

Professor Umbridge's face was quite blank. For a moment, Harry thought she was going to scream at him. Then she said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, 'Come here, Mr. Potter, dear.'

He kicked his chair aside, strode around Ron and Hermione and up to the teacher's desk. He could feel the rest of the class holding its breath. He felt so angry he did not care what happened next.

Professor Umbridge pulled a small roll of pink parchment out of her handbag, stretched it out on the desk, dipped her quill into a bottle of ink and started scribbling, hunched over so that Harry could not see what she was writing. Nobody spoke. After a minute or so she rolled up the parchment and tapped it with her wand; it sealed itself seamlessly so that he could not open it.

'Take this to Professor McGonagall, dear,' said Professor Umbridge, holding out the note to him.

He took it from her without saying a word, turned on his heel and left the room, not even looking back at Ron and Hermione, slamming the classroom door shut behind him.

 **Harry:**

I walked very fast along the corridor, the note to McGonagall clutched tight in my hand, and turning a corner walked slap into Peeves the poltergeist, a wide-mouthed little man floating on his back in midair, juggling several inkwells.

'Why, it's Potty Wee Potter!' cackled Peeves, allowing two of the inkwells to fall to the ground where they smashed and spattered the walls with ink; Harry jumped backwards out of the way with a snarl.

'Get out of it, Peeves.'

'Oooh, Crackpot's feeling cranky,' said Peeves, pursuing me along the corridor, leering as he zoomed along above him. 'What is it this time, my fine Potty friend? Hearing voices? Seeing visions? Speaking in-' Peeves blew a gigantic raspberry '- tongues?'

'I said, leave me ALONE!' I shouted, running down the nearest flight of stairs, but Peeves merely slid down the banister on his back beside him.

'Oh, most think he's barking, the potty wee lad,

But some are more kindly and think he's just sad,

But Peevesy knows better and says that he's mad-'

'SHUT UP!'

A door to his left flew open and Professor McGonagall emerged from her office looking grim and slightly harassed.

'What on earth are you shouting about, Potter?' she snapped, as Peeves cackled gleefully and zoomed out of sight. 'Why aren't you in class?'

'I've been sent to see you,' I said, stiffly.

'Sent? What do you mean, sent?'

I held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower.

'Come in here, Potter.'

I followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind me.

'Well?' said Professor McGonagall, rounding on him. 'Is this true?'

'Is what true?' I asked, rather more aggressively than he had intended. 'Professor?' I added, in an attempt to sound more polite.

'Is it true that you shouted at Professor Umbridge?'

'Yes.'

'You called her a liar?'

'Yes.'

'You told her He Who Must Not Be Named is back?'

'Yes.'

Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, watching me closely. Then she said, 'Have a biscuit, Potter.'

'Have-what?'

'Have a biscuit,' she repeated impatiently, indicating a tartan tin lying on top of one of the piles of papers on her desk. 'And sit down.'

There had been a previous occasion when I, expecting to be caned by Professor McGonagall, had instead been appointed by her to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He sank into a chair opposite her and helped himself to a Ginger Newt, feeling just as confused and wrong-footed as he had done on that occasion.

Professor McGonagall set down Professor Umbridge's note and looked very seriously at me.

'Potter, you need to be careful.'

I swallowed his mouthful of Ginger Newt and stared at her. Her tone of voice was not at all what I was used to; it was not brisk, crisp and stern; it was low and anxious and somehow much more human than usual.

'Misbehaviour in Dolores Umbridge's class could cost you much more than house points and a detention.'

'What do you-?'

'Potter, use your common sense,' snapped Professor McGonagall, with an abrupt return to her usual manner. 'You know where she comes from, you must know to whom she is reporting.'

The bell rang for the end of the lesson. Overhead and all around came the elephantine sounds of hundreds of students on the move.

'It says here she's given you detention every evening this week, starting tomorrow,' Professor McGonagall said, looking down at Umbridge's note again.

'Every evening this week!' I repeated, horrified. 'But, Professor, couldn't you-?'

'No, I couldn't,' said Professor McGonagall flatly.

'But-'

'She is your teacher and has every right to give you detention. You will go to her room at five o'clock tomorrow for the first one. Just remember: tread carefully around Dolores Umbridge.'

'But I was telling the truth!' I said, outraged. 'Voldemort is back, you know he is; Professor Dumbledore knows he is-'

'For heaven's sake, Potter!' said Professor McGonagall, straightening her glasses angrily (she had winced horribly when he had used Voldemort's name). 'Do you really think this is about truth or lies? It's about keeping your head down and your temper under control!'

She stood up, nostrils wide and mouth very thin, and I stood up, too.

'Have another biscuit,' she said irritably, thrusting the tin at me.

'No, thanks,' I said coldly.

'Don't be ridiculous,' she snapped.

I took one.

'Thanks,' I said grudgingly.

'Didn't you listen to Dolores Umbridge's speech at the start-of-term feast, Potter?'

'Yeah,' I replied. 'Yeah ... she said ... progress will be prohibited or ... well, it meant that ... that the Ministry of Magic is trying to interfere at Hogwarts.'

Professor McGonagall eyed me closely for a moment, then sniffed, walked around her desk and held open the door for me.

'Well, I'm glad you listen to Hermione Granger at any rate,' she said, pointing me out of her office.

Dinner in the Great Hall that night was not a pleasant experience for me. The news about his shouting match with Umbridge had travelled exceptionally fast even by Hogwarts' standards. I heard whispers all around him as he sat eating between Ron and Hermione. The Americans were helping magnificently. They gave death glares at anyone who was whispering and pointing at me. The funny thing was that none of the whisperers seemed to mind him overhearing what they were saying about me. On the contrary, it was as though they were hoping I would get angry and finish my story.

'He says he saw Cedric Diggory murdered ...'

'He reckons he duelled with You-Know-Who ...'

'Come off it ...'

'Who does he think he's kidding?'

'Pur-lease ...'

'What I don't get,' I said through clenched teeth, laying down his knife and fork (his hands were shaking too much to hold them steady), 'is why they all believed the story two months ago when Dumbledore told them ...'

"You told them last year?" Said Percy quizzingly.

"Yeah. Dumbledore told the school, but they believed him then. I don't know why no one believes me now."

'The thing is, Harry, I'm not sure they did,' said Hermione grimly. 'Oh, let's get out of here.'

'Thanks for your help guys, you lessened the muttering.' She gave them an appreciative smile, which they returned.

She slammed down her own knife and fork; Ron looked longingly at his half-finished apple pie but followed suit. People stared at them all the way out of the Hall.

'What d'you mean, you're not sure they believed Dumbledore?' I asked Hermione when we reached the first-floor landing.

'Look, you don't understand what it was like after it happened,' said Hermione quietly. 'You arrived back in the middle of the lawn clutching Cedric's dead body ... none of us saw what what happened in the maze ... we just had Dumbledore's word for it that You-Know-Who had come back and killed Cedric and fought you.'

'Which is the truth!' said I, loudly.

'I know it is, Harry, so will you please stop biting my head off?' said Hermione wearily. 'It's just that before the truth could sink in, everyone went home for the summer, where they spent two months reading about how you're a nutcase and Dumbledore's going senile!'

Rain pounded on the windowpanes as they strode along the empty corridors back to Gryffindor Tower. I felt as though my first day had lasted a week, but I still had a mountain of homework to do before bed. A dull pounding pain was developing over his right eye. He glanced out of a rain-washed window at the dark grounds as they turned into the Fat Lady's corridor. There was still no light in Hagrid's cabin.

'Mimbulus mimbletonia,' said Hermione, before the Fat Lady could ask. The portrait swung open to reveal the hole behind it and the three of them scrambled through it.

The common room was almost empty; nearly everyone was still down at dinner. Crookshanks uncoiled himself from an armchair and trotted to meet them, purring loudly, and when Me, Ron and Hermione took their three favourite chairs at the fireside he leapt lightly on to Hermione's lap and curled up there like a furry ginger cushion. Harry gazed into the flames, feeling drained and exhausted.

'How can Dumbledore have let this happen?' Hermione cried suddenly, making me and Ron jump; Crookshanks leapt off her, looking affronted. She pounded the arms of her chair in fury, so that bits of stuffing leaked out of the holes. 'How can he let that terrible woman teach us? And in our OWL year, too!'

'Well, we've never had great Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, have we?' said Ron. 'You know what it's like, Hagrid told us, nobody wants the job; they say it's jinxed.'

'Yes, but to employ someone who's actually refusing to let us do magic! What's Dumbledore playing at?'

'And she's trying to get people to spy for her,' said Ron darkly.

'Remember when she said she wanted us to come and tell her if we hear anyone saying You-Know-Who's back?'

'Of course she's here to spy on us all, that's obvious, why else would Fudge have wanted her to come?' snapped Hermione.

'Don't start arguing again,' said I, wearily, as Ron opened his mouth to retaliate. 'Can't we just... let's just do that homework, get it out of the way...'

We collected our schoolbags from a corner and returned to the chairs by the fire. People were coming back from dinner now. Harry kept his face averted from the portrait hole, but could still sense the stares he was attracting.

'Shall we do Snape's stuff first?' said Ron, dipping his quill into his ink. '"The properties... of moonstone... and its uses ... in potion-making..."' he muttered, writing the words across the top of his parchment as he spoke them. 'There.' He underlined the title, then looked up expectantly at Hermione. He was about to say something before The Americans, like all the Americans came in. Looking grim.

"The muttering is all about whether or not Voldemort is back." Frank said.

"No one believes you, at least none that we talked to." Percy said. I huffed and waved them down.

"Come on, let's do some homework together. We all had the same classes so we decided to all do Potions.

'So, what are the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making?' Ron asked.

"Moonstone (also known as the wishing stone) is a gemstone of medium value. Moonstones are a milky colour and shine very brightly, almost as though they are a source of their own light. They are a useful potion ingredient; powdered moonstones are used as an ingredient for the Draught of Peace and in several Love Potions. Percy chanted." Everyone stared at him as if they weren't used to him giving answers. "What? I like potions," he chuckled. We spent the next part of one and a half hours doing the essay. I needed another inch, but I just copied Hermione. All the Americans copied off Percy, except Annabeth, who did fine on her own. None of us did the giant essay, but the Americans decided to go to bed. Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, and Leo left through the portrait hole. I put my books away, but Hermione however, did something very weird.

She wrenched her bag open; I thought she was about to put her books away, but instead she pulled out two misshapen woolly objects, placed them carefully on a table by the fireplace, covered them with a few screwed-up bits of parchment and a broken quill and stood back to admire the effect.

'What in the name of Merlin are you doing?' said Ron, watching her as though fearful for her sanity.

'They're hats for house-elves,' she said briskly now stuffing her books back into her bag. 'I did them over the summer. I'm a really slow knitter without magic but now I'm back at school I should be able to make lots more.'

'You're leaving out hats for the house-elves?' said Ron slowly. 'And you're covering them up with rubbish first?'

'Yes,' said Hermione defiantly, swinging her bag on to her back.

That's not on,' said Ron angrily. 'You're trying to trick them into picking up the hats. You're setting them free when they might not want to be free.'

'Of course they want to be free!' said Hermione at once, though her face was turning pink. 'Don't you dare touch those hats, Ron!'

She turned on her heel and left. Ron waited until she had disappeared through the door to the girls' dormitories, then cleared the rubbish off the woolly hats.

'They should at least see what they're picking up,' he said firmly. 'Anyway ...' he rolled up the parchment on which he had written the title of Binn's essay. 'There's no point trying to finish this now, I can't do it without Hermione, I haven't got a clue what you're supposed to do with giant wars? Have you.'

I shook my head, noticing as I did so that the ache in my right temple was getting worse. I thought of the long essay on giant wars and the pain stabbed at me sharply. Knowing perfectly well that when the morning came, I would regret not finishing his homework that night, I piled my books back into my bag.

'I'm going to bed.'

I passed Seamus on the way to the door leading to the dormitories, but did not look at him. I had a fleeting impression that Seamus had opened his mouth to speak, but I sped up and reached the soothing peace of the stone spiral staircase without having to endure any more provocation. The Americans had already passed out. I crawled into my bed, fully dressed and passed out aswell. My last though being how much work we were going to have to do.

 **Chapter 11 Done. I don't think that the update for Chapter 10 went through, so I urge you to go back and read it if this chapter seems a bit random. It was the sorting last time, this chapter will make a lot more sense. I hope that you all enjoy this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing it. Please review, your opinions mean a lot to me. The prophecy bit was quite fun to write as well. You'll see some more prophecies coming through as well.**

 **~Red Gods**


	12. Detention With The Toad

**Chapter 12: Annabeth**

My first day at Hogwarts was quite terrible. We had History of Magic, which was terribly boring and I forced myself to listen and pay attention. Then we had Potions. I was good at potions, and did well, but Percy smashed me at Potions. It was probably one of the first times he beat me at anything. Then, we had that fiasco of a Divination lesson. Trelawny had recited, literally every prophecy any of us had been a part of. I had the ominous feeling that we weren't done with Trelawny. Then, we had that toad as our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. She wasn't letting us do any magic in her class, whatsoever. Then, Harry lost his temper and shouted at Umbridge about Voldemort being back. Then, he got sent out and had detention for the whole week. I could literally feel hate radiating off of the demigods, we all hated that toad. Today, I hoped that today would be better.

I was sharing a room with Padma Patil, who I really connected with. I also shared with Mandy Brocklehurst and Laura Rose **(Just a random name I made up.)** They were all nice and didn't bother me much. I grabbed the books that I needed for the day and ran out of the portrait hole after answering the riddle. I sprinted down the the Great Hall because I was starving. I was quite late as most people were wrapping up and walking out to lessons. I waved to Percy and he waved back, flashing me his lopsided grin. I ran and sat in between Leo and Padma.

"Long night Annabeth?" Padma asked.

"Not really, I just slept in. Why didn't you wake me?"

"We seemed to think it was safer to let you sleep. We didn't need you to try to kill us." She said, smiling. I thought that was fair as I believed I probably would've stabbed them with my knife, concealed as a bead. I gulped down my food ravenously and realised that we had Double Charms, then Double Transfiguration. After that we had Care of Magical Creatures, then Herbology. Once we went to double charms, I met up with the rest of the demigods and we sat at the back. The first fifteen minutes were occupied with Flitwick lecturing us about the importance of our OWLS.

'What you must remember,' said little Professor Flitwick squeakily, perched as ever on a pile of books so that he could see over the top of his desk, 'is that these examinations may influence your futures for many years to come! If you have not already given serious thought to your careers, now is the time to do so. And in the meantime, I'm afraid, we shall be working harder than ever to ensure that you all do yourselves justice!'

They then spent over an hour revising Summoning Charms, which according to Professor Flitwick were bound to come up in their OWL, and he rounded off the lesson by setting them their largest ever amount of Charms homework. I found summoning charms easy. Piper did it first try and I did it on my third, along with Hermione. Percy took quite a while, but soon got the hang of it, as well as everyone else. Hazel also did it on the fourth try, as she was overall decent at almost everything.

It was the same, if not worse, in Transfiguration.

'You cannot pass an OWL,' said Professor McGonagall grimly, 'without serious application, practice and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an OWL in Transfiguration as long as they put in the work.' Neville made a sad little disbelieving noise. 'Yes, you too, Longbottom,' said Professor McGonagall. 'There's nothing wrong with your work except lack of confidence. So ... today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until NEWT level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your OWL.' Sure enough, Vanishing Spells were quite difficult. Percy didn't have that much of a problem, and did it right at the end of the lesson. However, Frank did it first try and Hermione and I did it soon after. After the lesson, many hadn't even successfully vanished their snails, but most of the demigods had done it right at the end. Jason and Piper were the only demigods, who didn't vanish anything. Frank, Hermione and I were the only ones, not given Homework as we did ours extremely quickly. Everyone else was instructed to practice the spell, ready for a fresh attempt on their snails, tomorrow. Most of us started panicking about the homework, and everyone headed to the library during lunch to finish their giant wars essay. We all made a start on our transfiguration practice aswell. Practicing vanishing spare pieces of parchment. We all hurried down to Care of Magical Creatures soon after. The day had become cool and breezy, and as they walked down the sloping lawn towards Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they felt the occasional drop of rain on their faces. Professor Grubbly-Plank stood waiting for the class some ten yards from Hagrid's front door, a long trestle table in front of her laden with twigs.

"Everyone here?" barked Professor Grubby-Plank. Once everyone had arrived. "Let's start. Who can tell me what these things are called?" she asked, indicating the pile of twigs in front of her. My hand shot in the air, along with Hermione's but Grubby-Plank picked me. "Yes, Chase."

"They're bowtruckles!" I exclaimed. 'They're tree-guardians, usually live in wand-trees.'

'Five points for Ravenclaw,' said Professor Grubbly-Plank. 'Yes, these are Bowtruckles, and as Miss Chase rightly says, they generally live in trees whose wood is of wand quality. Anybody know what they eat?'

'Woodlice,' I said promptly, 'But fairy eggs if they can get them.'

'Good girl, take another five points. So, whenever you need leaves or wood from a tree in which a Bowtruckle lodges, it is wise to have a gift of woodlice ready to distract or placate it. They may not look dangerous, but if angered they will try to gouge at human eyes with their fingers, which, as you can see, are very sharp and not at all desirable near the eyeballs. So if you'd like to gather closer, take a few woodlice and a Bowtruckle-I have enough here for one between three-you can study them more closely. I want a sketch from each of you with all body-parts labelled by the end of the lesson.'

The class surged forwards around the trestle table. We all picked a bowtruckle, but the bowtruckles ran away from Hazel, probably the whole Daughter of Pluto thing. Finally, a particularly greedy bowtruckle managed to be lured into Hazel's hands and she began sketching. Sketching a bowtruckle was similar to drawing plans for any building. I handed mine in early and Grubby-Plank was very impressed. Harry was arguing with Malfoy about something, I approached them, trying to placate them before anything escalated. I glared at Malfoy, he paled and fell over. The Gryffindors roared with laughter and the demigods shot me appreciative glances. We were all in good moods as we walked up to Herbology.

To nobody's surprise, Professor Sprout started their lesson by lecturing them about the importance of OWLs. I wished all the teachers would stop doing this; I was starting to get an anxious, twisted feeling in my stomach every time I remembered how much homework I had to do, a feeling that worsened dramatically when Professor Sprout gave them yet another essay at the end of class. Tired and smelling strongly of dragon dung, Professor Sprouts preferred type of fertiliser, the students trooped back up to the castle an hour and a half later, none of them talking very much; it had been another long day.

Harry ended up bidding us farewell as he had his first detention with Umbridge and dashed off to the Great Hall to have an early dinner. The rest of us decided to work on the Charms homework. We finished in about an hour and decided to work on that Herbology essay we just got. The divination could wait. Harry returned right after we started the Herbology essay and we finished it together. At Five to Five, he bade us farewell and marched off to have detention with Umbridge.

 **Harry: From 3** **rd** **Person. Bet you didn't expect that one.**

Harry set off for Umbridge's office on the third floor. When he knocked on the door she called, 'Come in,' in a sugary voice. He entered cautiously, looking around.

He had known this office under three of its previous occupants.

In the days when Gilderoy Lockhart had lived here it had been plastered in beaming portraits of himself. When Lupin had occupied it, it was likely you would meet some fascinating Dark creature in a cage or tank if you came to call. In the impostor Moody's days it had been packed with various instruments and artefacts for the detection of wrongdoing and concealment.

Now, however, it looked totally unrecognisable. The surfaces had all been draped in lacy covers and cloths. There were several vases full of dried flowers, each one residing on its own doily, and on one of the walls was a collection of ornamental plates, each decorated with a large technicolour kitten wearing a different bow around its neck. These were so foul that Harry stared at them, transfixed, until Professor Umbridge spoke again.

'Good evening, Mr Potter.'

Harry started and looked around. He had not noticed her at first because she was wearing a luridly flowered set of robes that blended only too well with the tablecloth on the desk behind her.

'Evening, Professor Umbridge,' Harry said stiffly.

'Well, sit down,' she said, pointing towards a small table draped in lace beside which she had drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment lay on the table, apparently waiting for him.

'Er,' said Harry, without moving. 'Professor Umbridge. Er-before we start, I-I wanted to ask you a ... a favour.'

Her bulging eyes narrowed.

'Oh, yes?'

'Well, I'm ... I'm in the Gryffindor Quidditch team. And I was supposed to be at the tryouts for the new Keeper at five o'clock on Friday and I was-was wondering whether I could skip detention that night and do it-do it another night ... instead ...'

He knew long before he reached the end of his sentence that it was no good.

'Oh, no,' said Umbridge, smiling so widely that she looked as though she had just swallowed a particularly juicy fly. 'Oh, no, no, no. This is your punishment for spreading evil, nasty, attention-seeking stories, Mr. Potter, and punishments certainly cannot be adjusted to suit the guilty one's convenience. No, you will come here at five o'clock tomorrow, and the next day, and on Friday too, and you will do your detentions as planned. I think it rather a good thing that you are missing something you really want to do. It ought to reinforce the lesson I am trying to teach you.'

Harry felt the blood surge to his head and heard a thumping noise in his ears. So he told 'evil, nasty, attention-seeking stones', did he?

She was watching him with her head slightly to one side, still smiling widely, as though she knew exactly what he was thinking and was waiting to see whether he would start shouting again. With a massive effort, Harry looked away from her, dropped his schoolbag beside the straight-backed chair and sat down.

'There,' said Umbridge sweetly, 'we're getting better at controlling our temper already, aren't we? Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr Potter. No, not with your quill,' she added, as Harry bent down to open his bag. 'You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are.'

She handed him a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point.

'I want you to write, I must not tell lies,' she told him softly.

'How many times?' Harry asked, with a creditable imitation of politeness.

'Oh, as long as it takes for the message to sink in,' said Umbridge sweetly. 'Off you go.'

She moved over to her desk, sat down and bent over a stack of parchment that looked like essays for marking. Harry raised the sharp black quill, then realised what was missing.

'You haven't given me any ink,' he said.

'Oh, you won't need ink,' said Professor Umbridge, with the merest suggestion of a laugh in her voice.

Harry placed the point of the quill on the paper and wrote: I must not tell lies.

He let out a gasp of pain. The words had appeared on the parchment in what appeared to be shining red ink. At the same time, the words had appeared on the back of Harry's right hand, cut into his skin as though traced there by a scalpel - yet even as he stared at the shining cut, the skin healed over again, leaving the place where it had been slightly redder than before but quite smooth.

Harry looked round at Umbridge. She was watching him, her wide, toadlike mouth stretched in a smile.

'Yes?'

'Nothing,' said Harry quietly.

He looked back at the parchment, placed the quill on it once more, wrote I must not tell lies, and felt the searing pain on the back of his hand for a second time; once again, the words had been cut into his skin; once again, they healed over seconds later.

And on it went. Again and again Harry wrote the words on the parchment in what he soon came to realise was not ink, but his own blood. And, again and again, the words were cut into the back of his hand, healed, and reappeared the next time he set quill to parchment.

Darkness fell outside Umbridge's window. Harry did not ask when he would be allowed to stop. He did not even check his watch. He knew she was watching him for signs of weakness and he was not going to show any, not even if he had to sit there all night, cutting open his own hand with this quill ...

'Come here,' she said, after what seemed hours.

He stood up. His hand was stinging painfully. When he looked down at it he saw that the cut had healed, but that the skin there was red raw.

'Hand,' she said.

He extended it. She took it in her own. Harry repressed a shudder as she touched him with her thick, stubby fingers on which she wore a number of ugly old rings.

'Tut, tut, I don't seem to have made much of an impression yet,' she said, smiling. 'Well, we'll just have to try again tomorrow evening, won't we? You may go.'

Harry left her office without a word. The school was quite deserted; it was surely past midnight. He walked slowly up the corridor, then, when he had turned the corner and was sure she would not hear him, broke into a run.

He had not had time to practise Vanishing Spells, had not written a single dream in his dream diary and had not finished the drawing of the Bowtruckle. Thankfully, thanks to the Americans, he had done all of his essays. He owed them a lot.

He skipped breakfast next morning to scribble down a couple of made-up dreams for Divination, their first lesson, and was surprised to find a dishevelled Ron keeping him company.

'How come you didn't do it last night?' Harry asked, as Ron stared wildly around the common room for inspiration. Ron, who had been fast asleep when Harry got back to the dormitory, muttered something about 'doing other stuff, bent low over his parchment and scrawled a few words.

'That'll have to do,' he said, slamming the diary shut. 'I've said I dreamed I was buying a new pair of shoes, she can't make anything weird out of that, can she?'

They hurried off to North Tower together.

'How was detention with Umbridge, anyway? What did she make you do?'

Harry hesitated for a fraction of a second, then said, 'Lines.'

'That's not too bad, then, eh?' said Ron.

'Nope,' said Harry.

'Hey-I forgot- did she let you off for Friday?'

'No,' said Harry.

Ron groaned sympathetically.

It was another bad day for Harry; he was one of the worst in Transfiguration, not having practised Vanishing Spells at all. The Americans, especially Frank tried to help him here. Annabeth gave him her drawing of a browtruckle so he didn't have to give up his lunch hour to complete the picture of the Bowtruckle. Meanwhile, Professors McGonagall, Grubbly-Plank and Sinistra gave them yet more homework, which he had no prospect of finishing that evening because of his second detention with Umbridge. To cap it all, Angelina Johnson tracked him down at dinner again and, on learning that he would not be able to attend Friday's Keeper tryouts, told him she was not at all impressed by his attitude and that she expected players who wished to remain on the team to put training before their other commitments.

'I'm in detention!' Harry yelled after her as she stalked away. 'D'you think I'd rather be stuck in a room with that old toad or playing Quidditch?'

'At least it's only lines,' said Hermione consolingly. Percy and Jason glared at him, as though they knew he was concealing something. Harry sank back on to his bench and looked down at his steak and kidney pie, which he no longer fancied very much. 'It's not as it it's a dreadful punishment, really ...'

Harry opened his mouth, closed it again and nodded. He was not really sure why he was not telling Ron and Hermione exactly what was happening in Umbridge's room: he only knew that he did not want to see their looks of horror; that would make the whole thing seem worse and therefore more difficult to face. He also felt dimly that this was between himself and Umbridge, a private battle of wills, and he was not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing that he had complained about it.

'I can't believe how much homework we've got,' said Ron miserably.

'Well, why didn't you do any last night?' Hermione asked him. 'Where were you, anyway?'

'I was ... I fancied a walk,' said Ron shiftily.

Harry had the distinct impression that he was not alone in concealing things at the moment.

The second detention was just as bad as the previous one. The skin on the back of Harry's hand became irritated more quickly now and was soon red and inflamed. Harry thought it unlikely that it would keep healing as effectively for long. Soon the cut would remain etched into his hand and Umbridge would, perhaps, be satisfied. He let no gasp of pain escape him, however, and from the moment of entering the room to the moment of his dismissal, again past midnight, he said nothing but 'good evening' and 'goodnight'.

Harry got back to the Common room and instead of going to bed, decided to do some Homework. He caught up to date on his Dream Diary and decided that he might as well practice some spells for Transfiguration. He also did more of his Herbology homework on the proper handling of bowtruckles. He stumbled back up to bed and passed out on his bed. Thursday passed in a haze of tiredness. Ron seemed very sleepy too, though Harry could not see why he should be. Harry's third detention passed in the same way as the previous two, except that after two hours the words 'I must not tell lies' did not fade from the back of Harry's hand, but remained scratched there, oozing droplets of blood. The pause in the pointed quills scratching made Professor Umbridge look up.

'Ah,' she said softly, moving around her desk to examine his hand herself. 'Good. That ought to serve as a reminder to you, oughtn't it? You may leave for tonight.'

'Do I still have to come back tomorrow?' said Harry, picking up his schoolbag with his left hand rather than his smarting right one.

'Oh yes,' said Professor Umbridge, smiling as widely as before. 'Yes, I think we can etch the message a little deeper with another evenings work.'

Harry had never before considered the possibility that there might be another teacher in the world he hated more than Snape, but as he walked back towards Gryffindor Tower he had to admit he had found a strong contender. She's evil, he thought, as he climbed a staircase to the seventh floor, she's an evil, twisted, mad old-

'Ron?'

He had reached the top of the stairs, turned right and almost walked into Ron, who was lurking behind a statue of Lachlan the Lanky, clutching his broomstick. He gave a great leap of surprise when he saw Harry and attempted to hide his new Cleansweep Eleven behind his back.

'What are you doing?'

'Er-nothing. What are you doing?'

Harry frowned at him.

'Come on, you can tell me! What are you hiding here for?'

'I'm-I'm hiding from Fred and George, if you must know,' said Ron. 'They just went past with a bunch of first-years, I bet they're testing stuff on them again, I mean, they can't do it in the common room now, can they, not with Hermione there.'

He was talking in a very fast, feverish way.

'But what have you got your broom for, you haven't been flying, have you?' Harry asked.

'I-well-well, OK, I'll tell you, but don't laugh, all right?' Ron said defensively, turning redder with every second. 'I-I thought I'd try out for Gryffindor Keeper now I've got a decent broom. There. Go on. Laugh.'

'I'm not laughing,' said Harry. Ron blinked. 'It's a brilliant idea! It'd be really cool if you got on the team! I've never seen you play Keeper, are you good?'

'I'm not bad,' said Ron, who looked immensely relieved at Harry's reaction. 'Charlie, Fred and George always made me keep for them when they were training during the holidays.'

'So you've been practising tonight?'

'Every evening since Tuesday ... just on my own, though. I've been trying to bewitch Quaffles to fly at me, but it hasn't been easy and I don't know how much use it'll be.' Ron looked nervous and anxious. 'Fred and George are going to laugh themselves stupid when I turn up for the tryouts. They haven't stopped taking the mickey out of me since I got made a prefect.'

'I wish I was going to be there,' said Harry bitterly, as they set off together towards the common room.

'Yeah, so do- Harry, what's that on the back of your hand?'

Harry, who had just scratched his nose with his free right hand, tried to hide it, but had as much success as Ron with his Cleansweep.

'It's just a cut -it's nothing-it's-'

But Ron had grabbed Harry's forearm and pulled the back of Harry's hand up level with his eyes. There was a pause, during which he stared at the words carved into the skin, then, looking sick, he released Harry.

'I thought you said she was just giving you lines?'

Harry hesitated, but after all, Ron had been honest with him, so he told Ron the truth about the hours he had been spending in Umbridge's office.

'The old hag!' Ron said in a revolted whisper as they came to a halt in front of the Fat Lady, who was dozing peacefully with her head against her frame. 'She's sick! Go to McGonagall, say something!'

'No,' said Harry at once. 'I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing she's got to me.'

'Got to you?You can't let her get away with this!'

'I don't know how much power McGonagall's got over her,' said Harry.

'Dumbledore, then, tell Dumbledore!'

'No,' said Harry flatly.

'Why not?'

'He's got enough on his mind,' said Harry, but that was not the true reason. He was not going to go to Dumbledore for help when Dumbledore had not spoken to him once since June.

'Well, I reckon you should-' Ron began, but he was interrupted by the Fat Lady, who had been watching them sleepily and now burst out, 'Are you going to give me the password or will I have to stay awake all night waiting for you to finish your conversation?'

Friday dawned sullen and sodden as the rest of the week. Though Harry automatically glanced towards the staff table when he entered the Great Hall, it was without any real hope of seeing Hagrid, and he turned his mind immediately to his more pressing problems, such as the mountainous pile of homework he had to do and the prospect of yet another detention with Umbridge.

Two things sustained Harry that day. One was the thought that it was almost the weekend; the other was that, dreadful though his final detention with Umbridge was sure to be, he had a distant view of the Quidditch pitch from her window and might, with luck, be able to see something of Ron's tryout. These were rather feeble rays of light, it was true, but Harry was grateful for anything that might lighten his present darkness; he had never had a worse first week of term at Hogwarts.

At five o'clock that evening he knocked on Professor Umbridge's office door for what he sincerely hoped would be the final time, and was told to enter. The blank parchment lay ready for him on the lace-covered table, the pointed black quill beside it.

'You know what to do, Mr. Potter,' said Umbridge, smiling sweetly at him.

Harry picked up the quill and glanced through the window. If he just shifted his chair an inch or so to the right ... on the pretext of shifting himself closer to the table, he managed it. He now had a distant view of the Gryffindor Quidditch team soaring up and down the pitch, while half a dozen black figures stood at the foot of the three high goalposts, apparently awaiting their turn to Keep. It was impossible to tell which one was Ron at this distance.

I must not tell lies,Harry wrote. The cut in the back of his right hand opened and began to bleed afresh.

I must not tell cut dug deeper, stinging and smarting.

I must not tell trickled down his wrist.

He chanced another glance out of the window. Whoever was defending the goalposts now was doing a very poor job indeed. Katie Bell scored twice in the few seconds Harry dared to watch. Hoping very much that the Keeper wasn't Ron, he dropped his eyes back to the parchment shining with blood.

I must not tell lies.

I must not tell lies.

He looked up whenever he thought he could risk it; when he could hear the scratching of Umbridge's quill or the opening of a desk drawer. The third person to try out was pretty good, the fourth was terrible, the fifth dodged a Bludger exceptionally well but then fumbled an easy save. The sky was darkening, and Harry doubted he would be able to see the sixth and seventh people at all.

I must not tell lies.

I must not tell lies.

The parchment was now dotted with drops of blood from the back of his hand, which was searing with pain. When he next looked up, night had fallen and the Quidditch pitch was no longer visible.

'Let's see if you've got the message yet, shall we?' said Umbridge's soft voice half an hour later.

She moved towards him, stretching out her short ringed fingers for his arm. And then, as she took hold of him to examine the words now cut into his skin, pain seared, not across the back of his hand, but across the scar on his forehead. At the same time, he had a most peculiar sensation somewhere around his midriff.

He wrenched his arm out of her grip and leapt to his feet, staring at her. She looked back at him, a smile stretching her wide, slack mouth.

'Yes, it hurts, doesn't it?' she said softly.

He did not answer. His heart was thumping very hard and fast. Was she talking about his hand or did she know what he had just felt in his forehead?

'Well, I think I've made my point, Mr. Potter. You may go.'

He caught up his schoolbag and left the room as quickly as he could.

Stay calm, he told himself, as he sprinted up the stairs. Stay calm, it doesn't necessarily mean what you think it means ...

'Mimbulus mimbletonia!' he gasped at the Fat Lady, who swung forwards once more.

A roar of sound greeted him. Ron came running towards him, beaming all over his face and slopping Butterbeer down his front from the goblet he was clutching.

'Harry, I did it, I'm in, I'm Keeper!' At the same moment Jason rushed towards me and exclaimed

"Harry, I'm the new chaser!" Harry congratulated both of them, and realised that he hadn't seen Jason play. Jason went into depth on how he scored fifteen goals more than the person who was going to be in second place. 'Sorry I was a bit short with you earlier, Potter,' she said abruptly. 'It's stressful this managing lark, you know, I'm starting to think I was a bit hard on Wood sometimes.' She was watching Ron over the rim of her goblet with a slight frown on her face.

'Look, I know he's your best mate, but he's not fabulous,' she said bluntly. 'I think with a bit of training he'll be all right, though. He comes from a family of good Quidditch players. I'm banking on him turning out to have a bit more talent than he showed today, to be honest. Vicky Frobisher and Geoffrey Hooper both flew better this evening, but Hooper's a real whiner, he's always moaning about something or other, and Vicky's involved in all sorts of societies. She admitted herself that if training clashed with her Charms Club she'd put Charms first. Anyway, we're having a practice session at two o'clock tomorrow, so just make sure you're there this time. And do me a favour and help Ron as much as you can, OK? Also, your friend Jason, tell him that he's an amazing chaser, we're really depending on him, now that Alicia can't play'

He nodded, and Angelina strolled back to Alicia Spinnet, who was now injured, and couldn't play Quidditch. Harry moved over to sit next to Hermione, who awoke with a jerk as he put down his bag.

'Oh, Harry, it's you ... good about Ron, isn't it?' she said blearily. 'I'm just so-so-so tired,' she yawned. 'I was up until one o'clock making more hats. They're disappearing like mad!'

And sure enough, now that he looked, Harry saw that there were woolly hats concealed all around the room where unwary elves might accidentally pick them up.

'Great,' said Harry distractedly; if he did not tell somebody soon, he would burst. 'Listen, Hermione, I was just up in Umbridge's office and she touched my arm ...'

Hermione listened closely. When Harry had finished, she said slowly, 'You're worried You-Know-Who's controlling her like he controlled Quirrell?'

'Well,' said Harry, dropping his voice, 'it's a possibility, isn't it?'

'I suppose so,' said Hermione, though she sounded unconvinced. 'But I don't think he can be possessing her the way he possessed Quirrell, I mean, he's properly alive again now, isn't he, he's got his own body, he wouldn't need to share someone else's. He could have her under the Imperius Curse, I suppose ...'

They continued talking for another half hour or so, about possible ways that Voldemort could be manipulating Umbridge. Suddenly, Percy interrupted him.

"Harry? Can I please talk to you?" Harry wandered into the corner and started talking with Percy in whispers.

"Harry, I know that Umbridge is making you do something foul in those detentions."

"Uh… I don't know what you're talking about!" Harry exclaimed.

"Harry, show me your arm. You were twitching and scratching it earlier." Reluctantly, Harry pulled back his sleeve, and showed Percy his arm. "Holy Hades." Percy shouted, I though Holy Hades was a weird insult but I let it slide. "She's making you write lines on your hand?"

"No, she's using a quill that uses my blood as ink. It carves the words into the back of my hand." I replied. Percy scowled at the ceiling.

"Harry, you need to tell someone, the woman's torturing you!"

"I'm fine Percy, really." I caught some mumble from Percy. Something like

"I… IM…. Nico." That garbled sentence made no sense, but I didn't judge him. I trudged upstairs, and I thought that this week was inexcusably long. It felt like one incredibly long History of Magic Lesson."

 **Okay. That's chapter 12 done. Hope you all enjoy these longer chapters that I'm writing. I need some people to vote on whether the god aiding Lord Voldemort will be Ares, or some other god. I'm not sure. I need to introduce the big bad sometime soon. So, please review and give your opinion. In other news, we passed 2000 views, earlier today. Woo! I'm happy anyways. Thanks for everything. Don't forget to Read and Review. Also, I'll be leaving the link to a strawpoll to vote on the big bad. Ares, or Nemesis probably.**

 **/r5x232w4** **. That's the strawpoll. Ares, Nemesis or some other god.**

 **~RedGods**


	13. The Weekend

**Chapter 13: Piper (New One)  
**

The first week at the school of magic was extremely tiring. Doing so much studying, was extremely wearing on my body. We had more homework than was legal and I was absolutely out of it. There was slight sunlight creeping through the windows and I knew that it was the crack of dawn. I lay in bed for the next half hour, tossing and turning. I realised that I wouldn't be able to get back to sleep and I ran down into the common room. I was the only one there. I decided I might as well go up to the owlery and feed my owl, Marcia. **(Thanks random name generator)** I trace the path up to the owlery along with some treats for Marcia. I decided that I might as well try to send a letter to Camp, not wanting to risk an IM right now. I wrote it in the common room. It took a long time to write, even though it was quite a short letter.

 **Dear Mr Brunner,**

 **I hope you are doing well at school. Hogwarts is very nice. We learn most of the same subjects and most of them are quite dull. However, we have a new Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher. Professor Umbridge. The first week here is terrible. According to Percy, Umbridge is using the Black Quill, an instrument used by Nico's Dad downstairs for the naughty ones. Please advise on what could happen and what we can do.**

 **P.S Say hello to everyone at school for me.**

 **-Piper.**

I thought I would be alone in the owlery, but I saw a certain student there. I thought it was Percy, but I soon realised it was Harry Potter.

"Hey Harry!" I shouted. Harry abruptly turned, with a panicked expression on his face. He was attaching a letter to his owl. A snowy owl that I believe was named Hedwig.

"Oh, it's just you. How are you doing Piper?"

"I'm fine. I'm just sending a letter back to ca- school. I want to know what's happening there. I also felt the need to vent my frustrations with Umbridge somewhere." Harry nodded, as if he understood. I attached the letter to my beautiful owl and whispered, it's for camp. The owl hooted, as if she understood and took off. I watched her fly away, until she was just a tiny speck in the morning sky. I stood awkwardly, waiting for Harry to say something. I realised he wasn't in the mood to talk so I initiated conversation.

"Harry, who were you sending the letter to?"

"To Sirius, I just felt the need to vent my frustrations as well—" He was about to keep going, and then the owlery door opened. Cho Chang, a Ravenclaw stepped into the owlery. She had a shocked expression on her face. Harry however, automatically said

"Hi Cho."

'Oh ... hi,' she said breathlessly. "I didn't think anyone would be up here this early ... I only remembered five minutes ago, it's my mum's birthday!"

She held up the parcel. Being a daughter of Aphrodite, I could feel the tension in the room. Harry obviously liked Cho, but Cho liked him back. However, none of them wanted to ask the other out, for fear of something. But I couldn't tell what. I wasn't a mind reader. Harry and Cho seemed utterly oblivious to me, listening in on their conversation, staring at them with an eyebrow raised.

'Right,' said Harry. His brain seemed to have jammed. I could feel it. He wanted to say something funny, but he just couldn't. He was overwhelmed with something. I couldn't recognize the emotion. Wow! I guess I am a mind-reader. I continued to listen in and try "read their minds" with my amazing new ability.

'Nice day,' he said, gesturing to the windows. Wow, I thought. The weather was really good. But the weather? He is talking to the girl he likes, but he's talking about the weather? That is an epic fail. Anything would do, but the weather? Sorry. I'm getting side-tracked.

'Yeah,' said Cho, looking around for a suitable owl. 'Good Quidditch conditions. I haven't been out all week, have you?'

'No,' said Harry.

Cho had selected one of the school barn owls. She coaxed it down on to her arm where it held out an obliging leg so that she could attach the parcel.

'Hey has Gryffindor got a new Keeper and Chaseryet?' she asked.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'It's my friend Ron Weasley, d'you know him? Also, the new chaser is Jason Grace. He's one of the new American Exchange students.'

'Ron? The Tornados-hater?' said Cho rather coolly. 'Is he any good?'

'Yeah,' said Harry, 'I think so. I didn't see his tryout, though, I was in detention. However, I was told by Jason that everyone thought he was very good. Everyone seemed to think he was a natural with the broom.

Cho looked up, the parcel only half-attached to the owl's legs.

'That Umbridge woman's foul,' she said in a low voice. 'Putting you in detention just because you told the truth about how-how-how he died. Everyone heard about it, it was all over the school. You were really brave standing up to her like that.'

I could feel Harry's nervousness explode outwards, magnified ten-fold. I don't know who they were talking about, but I assumed it was Cedric Diggory. The person who was killed by Voldemort. However, no one believed Harry and he got really angry. Harry's spirits soared, however, before he could say another word, the owlery door opened. All of us jumped a mile. This seemed to alert Cho to my presence again. She stared at me, before returning to look at the door. Filch the caretaker came wheezing into the room. There were purple patches on his sunken, veined cheeks, his jowls were aquiver and his thin grey hair dishevelled; he had obviously run here. Mrs. Norris came trotting at his heels, gazing up at the owls overhead and mewing hungrily. There was a restless shifting of wings from above and a large brown owl snapped his beak in a menacing fashion.

'Aha!' said Filch, taking a flat-footed step towards Harry, his pouchy cheeks trembling with anger. 'I've had a tip-off that you are intending to place a massive order for Dungbombs!'

Harry folded his arms and stared at the caretaker.

'Who told you I was ordering Dungbombs?'

Cho was looking from Harry to Filch, also frowning; the barn owl on her arm, tired of standing on one leg, gave an admonitory hoot but she ignored it.

'I have my sources.' said Filch in a self-satisfied hiss. 'Now hand over whatever it is you're sending.'

However, since I was up here at almost the same time as Harry, I knew that his letter was already sent. Harry then replied,

"I can't. I've already sent it. It's gone." Filch's face turned even more purple, and contorted in rage.

"Gone?"

"Yes, Gone." Harry replied, as though he were talking to a five year old. Filch's mouth opened and closed rapidly over the next few seconds, giving him the appearance of a goldfish. He then stood up straight and said,

"How do I know you haven't sent it already?" I replied this time,

"I saw him send it." I countered.

"You saw him—"

"Yes I saw him!" I snapped. Filch then glared at me. His glare was absolutely pathetic. I could glare better than him, and I wasn't a good glarer. Percy or Annabeth's glare put his to absolute shame. He continued to open and close his mouth like a goldfish, before realizing it was a lost clause and lumbered out of the owlery.

"Thanks for saving me." He said.

"No prob." Harry then turned to face Cho, who was scowling in my direction. "Ch—"

"You weren't ordering dungbombs, where you?" Cho asked.

"No. Why would I do that. That's for Fred and George's thing," he said, grinning.

"If not, why would Filch suspect you?" Harry shrugged. He was probably as mystified as I was. I broke the silence and replied,

"Come on guys, we'll go down together." We left the owlery together. I decided that I might talk to Jason.

 **(Right here I need to clarify something. I believe that anyone can go into anyone's dormitories as long as they know how to access it. I say this as Harry got into both Slytherin and Ravenclaw dorms. So I'm just going to say that anyone can go into anyone's dorm, it's just that the Gryffindor's won't give their password up though. However, the demigods know all the passwords. I'm also not sure about whether sitting at different house tables is allowed. It's definitely not allowed during special occasions like Halloween or the Sorting, but I'm not sure. The only case I can really find, is when Harry gives the interview to the Quibbler. Luna comes over and sits at the Gryffindor table with Harry. I dunno if this is just another one of Luna's odd moments, but I'm not sure. I think that they might sit with each other a few times, at least before Umbridge becomes headmaster. Okay, On with the chapter.)**

I walked with Harry to the common room and I entered. Most of the people were up now and Jason and Percy were sitting by the fire. Frank was still sleeping I assumed so I sneaked up behind Jason. I kissed the back of his neck and he spun around. His confused expression turned into a smile as he shouted,

"PIPER!" He crushed me with a hug and kissed me.

"GUYS!" Percy shouted. We broke up and he continued, "It's the weekend, let's get the rest of the gang and do something. After breakfast!" We nodded and Jason ran up to get Frank. Percy and I dashed to the Great Hall, because we were starving. We ran down, but there wasn't many people. Ron, Hermione and Harry were already eating their breakfast and Percy slid next to them. I made my way over to the We started eating, and in the next five minutes, Hazel, Jason and Frank came. Annabeth and Leo turned up ten minutes after them.

"Harry, can all of us sit at the same table?" I asked, getting up from the Hufflepuff Table. Harry sat and started to think. Eventually he shrugged, but asked Hermione the same question. Hermione bit her lip and answered.

"Well, it's never really been established. I'm sure you're not allowed during formal feasts, but, I think that you can sit with each other during breakfast and lunch. For dinner, you doubt you can."

"Thanks." I went and grabbed the demigods and we all sat at the Gryffindor Table. We started talking about what we were going to do. Jason, Harry and Ron started talking about Quidditch Practice later. I wanted to go down and see them, but Percy and Annabeth convinced us to finish all our homework today, then enjoy the rest of the weekend. Hermione agreed. Speaking of Hermione, she was scolding Harry and Ron of being behind on Homework, but was muted by the flurry of owls. Hermione got her Daily Prophet and buried her head in it. Half way through her paper, she audibly gasped.

"What?" Ron asked.

"Shush, listen."

"The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer ... blah blah blah ...is currently hiding in London!" Hermione read from her half in an anguished whisper.

'Lucius Malfoy, I'll bet anything,' said Harry in a low, furious voice. 'He did recognise Sirius on the platform ...'

'What?' said Ron, looking alarmed. 'You didn't say-'

'Shh!' said the other two.

'... "Ministry warns wizarding community that Black is very dangerous ... killed thirteen people ... broke out of Azkaban ..." the usual rubbish,' Hermione concluded, laying down her half of the paper and looking fearfully at Harry and Ron. 'Well, he just won't be able to leave the house again, that's all,' she whispered. 'Dumbledore did warn him not to.'

I was extremely concerned. Sirius Black, had taken us into his house, he was very nice and all of us liked him. However, Harry directed me from my train of thought, by quoting another piece from the prophet Hermione discarded.

"Listen to this. Sturgis Podmore, 38, of number two, Laburnum Gardens, Clapham, has appeared in front of the Wizcngamot charged with trespass and attempted robbery at the Ministry of Magic on 31st August. Podmore was arrested by Ministry of Magic watchwizard Eric Munch, who found him attempting to force his way through a top-security door at one o'clock in the morning. Podmore, who refused to speak, in his own defence, was convicted on both charges and sentenced to six months in Azkaban.

'Sturgis Podmore?' said Ron slowly. 'He's that bloke who looks like his head's been thatched, isn't he? He's one of the Ord-

'Ron, shh!' said Hermione, casting a terrified look around them. We smiled back, and kept a look-out.

'Six months in Azkaban!' whispered Harry, shocked. 'Just for trying to get through a door!'

'Don't be silly, it wasn't just for trying to get through a door. What on earth was he doing at the Ministry of Magic at one o'clock in the morning?' breathed Hermione.

D'you reckon he was doing something for the Order?' Ron muttered.

'Wait a moment ...' said Harry slowly. 'Sturgis was supposed to come and see us off, remember?'

The other two looked at him.

'Yeah, he was supposed to be part of our guard going to King's Cross, remember? And Moody was all annoyed because he didn't turn up; so he couldn't have been on a job for them, could he?'

'Well, maybe they didn't expect him to get caught,' said Hermione.

'It could be a frame-up!' Ron exclaimed excitedly. 'No-listen!' he went on, dropping his voice dramatically at the threatening look on Hermione's face. 'The Ministry suspects he's one of Dumbledore's lot so-I dunno-they lured him to the Ministry, and he wasn't trying to get through a door at all! Maybe they've just made something up to get him!'

There was a pause while Harry and Hermione considered this. Harry thought it seemed far-fetched. Hermione, on the other hand, looked rather impressed. Most of the demigods looked apprehensive, but Hermione didn't notice it.

'Do you know, I wouldn't be at all surprised if that were true.'

She folded up her half of the newspaper thoughtfully. As Harry laid down his knife and fork, she seemed to come out of a reverie.

'Right, well, I think we should tackle that essay for Sprout on self-fertilising shrubs first and if we're lucky we'll be able to start McGonagall's Inanimatus Conjurus Spell before lunch ...' We all nodded, except Jason, who was itching to get on his new Nimbus Two Thousand and One. We bade them goodbye and walked up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"You know, if there is a rule about not being in the common rooms of other houses, we are flouting it." I said.

The three quidditch players went to practice their skills on a broom. The rest of us trudged up to the common room and completed a majority of our homework. We wandered back down for lunch and sat at the Gryffindor table. Ron, Harry and Jason were back, looking a bit tired, but thoroughly exhilarated. They were rapidly talking about Jason being a natural, until they saw us arrive. They welcomed us and we had a quick lunch, before taking off to see them play. Hermione insisted that she needed to study, but we forced her to come along and watch the real practice, we didn't have much homework left anyways.

 **Ron:**

During our before-practice session, I thought I did quite well. Harry and Jason played Chaser, while I defended the goals. Jason was a natural, he shot with sublime skill, but I somehow saved about three-quarters of their total shots. I walked down for the real practice, and I was nervous. Fred and George were definitely going to take the mick outta me. Sure enough, as soon as I walked through they started to tease me.

"All right Ron?" George said, winking at me.

"Ready to show us all up Ickle Prefect?" Fred said, with a malicious, trouble-maker grin on his face.

"Shut Up!" I said, stony-faced, pulling on my team robes. Thankfully, Angelina interrupted us,

"Okay everyone! Let's get to it. Fred, George, please get us the ball crate. But before that, let's give a formal welcome to Ron and Jason, who are taking up the post of keeper and chaser respectively." The Slytherins are up there, but I hope that Grace's friends can take care of them," she said, sending a smile towards Jason, who smirked.

We marched out, and were almost immediately booed by the Slytherins. The American's, who were sitting quite near them, started to glare at them. Percy and Annabeth's glare was enough to make an elephant back down, the Slytherins paled, but Malfoy continued to shout at them.

'What's that Weasley's riding?' Malfoy called in his sneering drawl. 'Why would anyone put a flying charm on a mouldy old log like that?'

Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson guffawed and shrieked with laughter. I mounted my broom and kicked off from the ground. My ears turned red and Harry followed me, encouraging me.

"Don't listen to them Ron, they're trying to make you unsettled." I glanced at them. Every now and then, they would move closer to the Slytherins, while glaring at them. The Slytherins scurried away, obviously afraid of their power.

'Hey, Johnson, what's with that hairstyle, anyway?' shrieked Pansy Parkinson from below. 'Why would anyone want to look like they've got worms coming out of their head?'

Angelina swept her long braided hair out of her face and continued calmly, 'Spread out, then, and let's see what we can do ...'

Harry reversed away from the others to the far side of the pitch. However, I fell back towards the opposite goal. Angelina raised the Quaffle with one hand and threw it hard to Fred, who passed to George, who passed to Harry, who passed to me, who dropped it.

The Slytherins, led by Malfoy, roared and screamed with laughter. I had pelted towards the ground to catch the Quaffle before it landed, pulled out of the dive untidily, so that I slipped sideways on my broom, and returned to playing height, blushing. I saw Fred and George exchange looks, but uncharacteristically neither of them said anything, for which I was grateful.

'Pass it on, Ron,' called Angelina, as though nothing had happened.

I threw the Quaffle to Jason, who passed back to Harry, who passed to George ...

'Hey, Potter, how's your scar feeling?' called Malfoy. 'Sure you don't need a lie down? It must be, what, a whole week since you were in the hospital wing, that's a record for you, isn't it?'

George passed to Angelina; she reverse-passed to Harry, who had not been expecting it, but caught it in the very tips of his fingers and passed it quickly to me. I lunged for it and missed by inches.

'Come on now, Ron,' said Angelina crossly, as I dived for the ground again, chasing the Quaffle. 'Pay attention.'

It would have been hard to say whether my face or the Quaffle was a deeper scarlet when I again returned to playing height. Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team were howling with laughter. I glanced at the Americans and Percy had stood up. He marched over to Malfoy and gave him a threatening talking to. Malfoy paled and instantly slipped of his seat, causing the students to roar with laughter. Percy then stalked away.

On my third attempt, I caught the Quaffle; out of relief I passed it on so enthusiastically that it soared straight though Katie's outstretched hands and hit her hard in the face.

'Sorry!' I groaned, zooming forwards to see whether I had done any damage.

'Get back in position, she's fine!' barked Angelina. 'But as you're passing to a teammate, do try not to knock her off her broom, won't you? We've got Bludgers for that!'

Katie's nose was bleeding. Down below, the Slytherins probably would've been stamping their feet and jeering, if not for Percy were starting to renew some of their Swagger. Fred and George converged on Katie.

'Here, take this,' Fred told her, handing her something small anc purple from out of his pocket, 'it'll clear it up in no time.'

'All right,' called Angelina, 'Fred, George, go and get your bats and a Bludger. Ron, get up to the goalposts. Harry, release the Snitch when I say so. We're going to aim for Ron's goal, obviously.'

Harry zoomed off after the twins to fetch the Snitch.

'Ron's making a right pig's ear of things, isn't he?' muttered George, as the three of them landed at the crate containing the balls and opened it to extract one of the Bludgers and the Snitch. I heard them, and blushed scarlet. I zoomed off to the other side.

They returned to the air. When Angelina blew her whistle, Harry released the Snitch and Fred and George let fly the Bludger. From that moment on, absolute mayhem ensued. The chasers moved with blinding speed and they shot at the goals. I did the most logical thing, and I dived. I missed, but it deflected off me and Jason zoomed down to grab it. They continued to shoot, but it all past in a blur. Soon, Angelina shouted.

'Stop-stop- STOP!' screamed Angelina. 'Ron-you're not covering your middle post!'

I looked around and saw that she was right, I was hovering around the left post, exposing the middle.

'Oh ... sorry ...'

'You keep shifting around while you're watching the Chasers!' said Angelina. 'Either stay in centre position until you have to move to defend a hoop, or else circle the hoops, but don't drift vaguely off to one side, that's how you let in the last three goals!'

'Sorry ...' I repeated, my red face shining like a beacon against the bright blue sky.

'And Katie, can't you do something about that nosebleed?'

'It's just getting worse!' said Katie thickly, attempting to stem the flow with her sleeve.

Harry glanced round at Fred, who was looking anxious and checking his pockets. He saw Fred pull out something purple, examine it for a second and then look round at Katie, evidently horror-struck.

'Well, let's try again,' said Angelina. She was ignoring the Slytherins, who had now set up a chant of 'Gryffindor are losers, Gryffindor are losers,' but there was a certain rigidity about her seat on the broom nevertheless. I glanced at the Americans and they lost it. Percy and Frank advanced and punched Malfoy in the mouth. I heard him whimper from here, and they threatened him. Malfoy, sat in his seat, quivering, as they walked away.

This time I had been flying for barely three minutes when Angelinas whistle sounded.

'What now?' I said impatiently to Jason, who was nearest.

'Katie,' he said shortly.

Harry turned and saw Angelina, Fred and George all flying as fast as they could towards Katie. Harry, Jason and I towards her, too. It was plain that Angelina had stopped training just in time; Katie was now chalk white and covered in blood.

'She needs the hospital wing,' said Angelina.

'We'll take her,' said Fred. 'She-er-might have swallowed a Blood Blisterpod by mistake-'

'Well, there's no point continuing with no Beaters and a Chaser gone,' said Angelina glumly as Fred and George zoomed off towards the castle supporting Katie between them. 'Come on, let's go and get changed.'

The Slytherins continued to chant as they trailed back into the changing rooms. Despite, Malfoy not joining in. I joined up with the rest of them, who looked sympathetically at me. Together, we walked up to the Common Room and decided to do homework. Harry and I were much further behind than them, as they spent about three hours studying, while Jason, Harry and I were playing Quidditch. We didn't make much headway on our homework that day. However, everyone else finished every last bit of their homework. Excluding Jason, who was only one piece off. Harry and I spent the whole of Sunday in the common room. The rest of the students, were frolicking around the grounds, looking like they were having the time of their lives, while Harry and I were stuck doing homework.

'You know, we probably should try and get more homework done during the week,' Harry muttered to me, as we finally laid aside Professor McGonagall's long essay on the Inanimatus Conjurus Spell and turned miserably to Professor Sinistra's equally long and difficult essay about Jupiter's many moons.

'Yeah,' I said, rubbing my slightly bloodshot eyes and throwing away my fifth spoiled bit of parchment into the fire beside them

'Listen ... shall we just ask Hermione if we can have a look at what she's done?'

Harry glanced over at her; she was sitting with Crookshanks on her lap and chatting merrily to Ginny as a pair of knitting needles flashed in midair in front of her, now knitting a pair of shapeless elf socks.

'No,' he said heavily, 'you know she won't let us.'

And so they worked on while the sky outside the windows became steadily darker. Slowly, the crowd in the common room began to thin again. At half past eleven, Hermione wandered over to them, yawning.

'Nearly done?'

'No,' I said shortly.

'Jupiter's biggest moon is Ganymede, not Callisto,' she said, pointing over my shoulder at a line in his Astronomy essay, 'and it's Io that's got the volcanoes.'

'Thanks,' I snarled, scratching out the offending sentences.

'Sorry, I only- '

'Yeah, well, if you've just come over here to criticise-'

'Ron-'

'I haven't got time to listen to a sermon, all right, Hermione, I'm up to my neck in it here- '

'No-look!'

Hermione was pointing to the nearest window. Harry and I both looked over. A handsome screech owl was standing on the windowsill, gazing into the room at Ron.

'Isn't that Hermes?' said Hermione, sounding amazed.

'Blimey, it is!' I said quietly, throwing down my quill and getting to my feet. 'What's Percy writing to me for?'

He crossed to the window and opened it; Hermes flew inside, landed on my essay and held out a leg to which a letter was attached. I took the letter off it and the owl departed at once, leaving inky footprints across my drawing of the moon Io.

'That's definitely Percy's handwriting,' I said, sinking back into my chair and staring at the words on the outside of the scroll: Ronald Weasley, Gryffindor House, Hogwarts. I looked up at the other two. 'What d'you reckon?'

'Open it!' said Hermione eagerly, and Harry nodded.

I unrolled the scroll and began to read. The further clown the parchment his eyes travelled, the more pronounced became his scowl. When he had finished reading, he looked disgusted. He thrust the letter at Harry and Hermione, who leaned towards each other to read it together:

Dear Ron,

I have only just heard (from no less a person than the Minister for Magic himself, who has it from your new teacher, Professor Umbridge) that you have become a Hogwarts prefect.

I was most pleasantly surprised when f heard this news and must firstly offer my congratulations. I must admit that I have always been afraid that you would take what we might call the 'Fred and George' route, rather than following in my footsteps, so you can imagine my feelings on hearing you have stopped flouting authority and have decided to shoulder some real responsibility.

But I want to give you more than congratulations, Ron, I want to give you some advice, which is why I am sending this at night rather than by the usual morning post. Hopefully, you will be able to read this away from prying eyes and avoid awkward questions.

From something the Minister let slip when telling me you are now a prefect, I gather that you are still seeing a lot of Harry Potter. I must tell you, Ron, that nothing could put you in danger of losing your badge more than continued fraternisation with that boy. Yes, I am sure you are surprised to hear this- no doubt you will say that Potter has always been Dumbledore's favourite-but I feel bound to tell you that Dumbledore may not be in charge at Hogwarts much longer and the people who count have a very different-and probably more accurate-view of Potter's behaviour. I shall say no more here, but if you look at the Daily Prophet tomorrow you will get a good idea of the way the wind is blowing-and see if you can spot yours truly!

Seriously, Ron, you do not want to be tarred with the same brush as Potter, it could be very damaging to your future prospects, and I am talking here about life after school, too. As you must be aware, given that our father escorted him to court, Potter had a disciplinary hearing this summer in front of the whole Wizengamot and he did not come out of it looking too good. He got off on a mere technicality, if you ask me, and many of the people I've spoken to remain convinced of his guilt.

It may be that you are afraid to sever ties with Potter-I know that he can be unbalanced and, for all I know, violent-but if you have any worries about this, or have spotted anything else in Potter's behaviour that is troubling you, I urge you to speak to Dolores Umbridge, a truly delightful woman who I know will be only too happy to advise you.

This leads me to my other bit of advice. As I have hinted above, Dumbledore's regime at Hogwarts may soon be over. Your loyalty, Ron, should be not to him, but to the school and the Ministry. I am very sorry to hear that, so far, Professor Umbridge is encountering very little co-operation from staff as she strives to make those necessary changes within Hogwarts that the Ministry so ardently desires (although she should find this easier from next week- again, see the Daily Prophet tomorrow!). I shall say only this-a student who shows himself willing to help Professor Umbridge now may be very well-placed for Head Boyship in a couple of years!

I am sorry that I was unable to see more of you over the summer. It pains me to criticise our parents, but I am afraid I can no longer live under their roof while they remain mixed up with the dangerous crowd around Dumbledore. (If you are writing to Mother at any point, you might tell her that a certain Sturgis Podmore, who is a great friend of Dumbledore's, has recently been sent to Azkaban for trespass at the Ministry. Perhaps that will open their eyes to the kind of petty criminals with whom they are currently rubbing shoulders.) I count myself very lucky to have escaped the stigma of association with such people-the Minister really could not be more gracious to me-and I do hope, Ron, that you will not allow family ties to blind you to the misguided nature of our parents' beliefs and actions, either. I sincerely hope that, in time, they will realise how mistaken they were and I shall, of course, be ready to accept a full apology when that day comes.

Please think over what I have said most carefully, particularly the bit about Harry Potter, and congratulations again on becoming prefect.

Your brother,

Percy

Harry looked up at me.

'Well,' he said, trying to sound as though he found the whole thing a joke, 'if you want to-er -what is it?'-he checked Percy's letter-'Oh yeah-"sever ties" with me, I swear I won't get violent.'

'Give it back,' I said, grabbing the letter out of his hand. 'He is-' I said jerkily, tearing Percy's letter in half 'the world's-' I tore it into quarters 'biggest-' I tore it into eighths 'git.' I threw the pieces into the fire.

'Come on, we've got to get this finished sometime before dawn,' I said briskly to Harry, pulling Professor Sinistra's essay back towards him.

Hermione was looking at Ron with an odd expression on her face.

'Oh, give them here,' she said abruptly.

'What?' I said.

'Give them to me, I'll look through them and correct them,' she said.

'Are you serious? Ah, Hermione, you're a life-saver,' I said, 'what can I-?'

'What you can say is, "We promise we'll never leave our homework this late again," ' she said, holding out both hands for their essays, but she looked slightly amused all the same.

'Thanks a million, Hermione,' said Harry weakly, passing over his essay and sinking back into his armchair, rubbing his eyes.

It was now past midnight and the common room was deserted but for the three of them and Crookshanks. The only sound was that of Hermione's quill scratching out sentences here and there on their essays and the ruffle of pages as she checked various facts in the reference books strewn across the table. I was exhausted. He also felt an odd, sick, empty feeling in his stomach that had nothing to do with tiredness and everything to do with the letter now curling blackly in the heart of the fire.

I went back and Hermione pelted me with advice. I patted her on her shoulder and saw Harry on his knees, staring at the fireplace.

 **Third Person:  
**

'Er-Harry?' said Ron uncertainly. 'Why are you down there?'

'Because I've just seen Sirius's head in the fire,' said Harry.

He spoke quite calmly; after all, he had seen Sirius's head in this very fire the previous year and talked to it, too; nevertheless, he could not be sure that he had really seen it this time ... it had vanished so quickly ...

'Sirius's head?' Hermione repeated. 'You mean like when he wanted to talk to you during the Triwizard Tournament? But he wouldn't do that now, it would be too-Sirius!'

She gasped, gazing at the fire; Ron dropped his quill. There in the middle of the dancing flames sat Sirius's head, long dark hair failing around his grinning face.

'I was starting to think you'd go to bed before everyone else had disappeared,' he said. 'I've been checking every hour.'

'You've been popping into the fire every hour?' Harry said, half-laughing.

'Just for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear.'

'But what if you'd been seen?' said Hermione anxiously.

'Well, I think a girl-first-year, by the look of her-might've get a glimpse of me earlier, but don't worry,' Sirius said hastily, as Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth, 'I was gone the moment she looked back at me and I'll bet she just thought I was an oddly-shaped log or something.'

'But, Sirius, this is taking an awful risk-' Hermione began.

'You sound like Molly,' said Sirius. 'This was the only way I could come up with of answering Harry's letter without resorting to a code-and codes are breakable.'

At the mention of Harry's letter, Hermione and Ron both turned to stare at him.

'You didn't say you'd written to Sirius! said Hermione accusingly.

'I forgot,' said Harry, which was perfectly true; his meeting with Cho in the Owlery had driven everything before it out of his mind. 'Don't look at me like that, Hermione, there was no way anyone would have got secret information out of it, was there, Sirius?'

'No, it was very good,' said Sirius, smiling. 'Anyway, we'd better be quick, just in case we're disturbed-your scar.'

'What about-?' Ron began, but Hermione interrupted him.

'We'll tell you afterwards. Go on, Sirius.'

'Well, I know it can't be fun when it hurts, but we don't think its anything to really worry about. It kept aching all last year, didn't it?'

'Yeah, and Dumbledore said it happened whenever Voldemort was feeling a powerful emotion,' said Harry, ignoring, as usual, Ron and Hermione's winces. 'So maybe he was just, I dunno, really angry or something the night I had that detention.'

'Well, now he's back it's bound to hurt more often,' said Sirius.

'So you don't think it had anything to do with Umbridge touching me when I was in detention with her?' Harry asked.

'I doubt it,' said Sirius. 'I know her by reputation and I'm sure she's no Death Eater-'

'She's foul enough to be one,' said Harry darkly, and Ron and Hermione nodded vigorously in agreement.

'Yes, but the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters,' said Sirius with a wry smile. 'I know she's a nasty piece of work, though-you should hear Remus talk about her.'

'Does Lupin know her?' asked Harry quickly, remembering Umbridge's comments about dangerous half-breeds during her first lesson.

'No,' said Sirius, 'but she drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him to get a job.'

Harry remembered how much shabbier Lupin looked these days and his dislike of Umbridge deepened even further.

'What's she got against werewolves?' said Hermione angrily.

'Scared of them, I expect,' said Sirius, smiling at her indignation. 'Apparently, she loathes part-humans; she campaigned to have merpeople rounded up and tagged last year, too. Imagine wasting your time and energy persecuting merpeople when there are little toerags like Kreacher on the loose.'

Ron laughed but Hermione looked upset.

'Sirius!' she said reproachfully. 'Honestly, if you made a bit of an effort with Kreacher, I'm sure he'd respond. After all, you are the only member of his family he's got left, and Professor Dumbledore said-'

'So, what are Umbridge's lessons like?' Sirius interrupted. 'Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?'

'No,' said Harry, ignoring Hermione's affronted look at being cut off in her defence of Kreacher. 'She's not letting us use magic at all!'

'All we do is read the stupid textbook,' said Ron.

'Ah, well, that figures,' said Sirius. 'Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat.'

'Trained in combat!' repeated Harry incredulously. 'What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?'

'That's exactly what he thinks you're doing,' said Sirius, 'or, rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing-forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic.'

There was a pause at this, then Ron said, That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard, including all the stuff that Luna Lovegood comes out with.'

'So we're being prevented from learning Defence Against the Dark Arts because Fudge is scared we'll use spells against the Ministry?' said Hermione, looking furious.

'Yep,' said Sirius. 'Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge.'

This reminded Harry of Percy's letter.

'D'you know if there's going to be anything about Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet tomorrow? Ron's brother Percy reckons there will be-'

'I don't know,' said Sirius, 'I haven't seen anyone from the Order all weekend, they're all busy. It's just been Kreacher and me here.'

There was a definite note of bitterness in Sirius's voice.

'So you haven't had any news about Hagrid, either?'

'Ah ...' said Sirius, 'well, he was supposed to be back by now, no one's sure what's happened to him.' Then, seeing their stricken faces, he added quickly, 'But Dumbledore's not worried, so don't you three get yourselves in a state; I'm sure Hagrid's fine.'

'But if he was supposed to be back by now ...' said Hermione in a small, anxious voice.

'Madame Maxime was with him, we've been in touch with her and she says they got separated on the journey home-but there's nothing to suggest he's hurt or-well, nothing to suggest he's not perfectly OK.'

Unconvinced, Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks.

'Listen, don't go asking too many questions about Hagrid,' said Sirius hastily, 'it'll just draw even more attention to the fact that he's not back and I know Dumbledore doesn't want that. Hagrid's tough, he'll be OK.' And when they did not appear cheered by this, Sirius added, 'When's your next Hogsmeade weekend, anyway? I was thinking, we got away with the dog disguise at the station, didn't we? I thought I could-'

'NO!' said Harry and Hermione together, very loudly.

'Sirius, didn't you see the Daily Prophet?' said Hermione anxiously.

'Oh, that,' said Sirius, grinning, 'they're always guessing where I am, they haven't really got a clue-'

'Yeah, but we think this time they have,' said Harry. 'Something Malfoy said on the train made us think he knew it was you, and his father was on the platform, Sirius- you know, Lucius Malfoy-so don't come up here, whatever you do. If Malfoy recognises you again-'

'All right, all right, I've got the point,' said Sirius. He looked most displeased. 'Just an idea, thought you might like to get together.'

'I would, I just don't want you chucked back in Azkaban!' said Harry.

There was a pause in which Sirius looked out of the fire at Harry, a crease between his sunken eyes.

'You're less like your father than I thought,' he said finally, a definite coolness in his voice. 'The risk would've been what made it fun for James.'

'Look-'

'Well, I'd better get going, I can hear Kreacher coming down the stairs,' said Sirius, but Harry was sure he was lying. 'I'll write to tell you a time I can make it back into the fire, then, shall I? If you can stand to risk it?'

There was a tiny pop, and the place where Sirius's head had been was flickering flame once more.

The three of them, exhausted managed to climb up the stairs to their respective dormitories and collapsed onto their beds.

 **Okay. Another chapter done. I need to address an issue. Sometimes the chapters don't update and they aren't seen being updated today. I urge you to check back everyday, as I probably do one everyday. I just don't know what is happening when it just doesn't update on the site. I also need some reviews that tell me what god should be aiding Lord Voldemort. Ares, or Nemesis. I need to introduce one or the other soon. Please review, it will mean a lot for me. On a happier note, we're nearing 3000 views. It's crazy that in about a week, that it's been viewed so much. Thanks a lot!**

 **~RedGods**


	14. Inquisitor and Backstory

**First, I would like to thank everyone for supporting this story. We just hit 3500 views! I also appreciate all the reviews. Thanks** **TeamZ55 - Eclipse Shine for the feedback on how to best improve this story. I will try to include the Seven more actively in the role of the plot. In my defense, the last few chapters aren't that focused on the demigods as I want to catch up to the Hogwarts plot. So thanks for the constructive criticism and I will do my best to improve. Also, about what god to aid Lord Voldemort, I like the idea presented by George Saurus, being Eris, the goddess of Chaos and strife. I'm not really sure between Ares, Nemesis or Eris. I'll be debating this. Anyways, thanks!**

 **Chapter 14: Percy**

Yesterday, Harry seemed very preoccupied. I decided that today, the rest of the demigods would confront them about their issues. I woke up in the dorm and raced off to have breakfast. I found all the demigods, who woke up earlier than me, crowded around Harry and Hermione, who were holding a Daily Prophet.

"Guys? What are you looking at?" I asked. Annabeth gestured to the paper, obviously inviting me to read it. The headline read,

 **MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM**

 **DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED**

 **FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR**

"High Inquisitor?" I questioned. Annabeth impatiently gestured to the piece of paper again.

 **In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

" **The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time," said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. "He is now responding to concerns, voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of." This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvements at the wizarding school. As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person.** ****

 **'"That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts," said Weasley last night. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success-" '**

"What?" I exclaimed. "She's been a what?"

"There's more Perce." Jason replied. I continued to read the paper.

 **-an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts."**

 **It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor.** ****

 **"This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts," said Weasley. "The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post and we are delighted to say that she has accepted." This new move by the ministry has received enthusiastic support from many parents.**

 **"I feel much easier and happy sending my child to Hogwarts, now that I know that Dumbledore and his teachers, are subject to fair and objective evaluation." Said Lucius Malfoy, 41.**

" **Many of us have the best interests of the school at heart and we have been concerned by Dumbledore's recent decisions when it comes to the appointment of new teachers. We are very glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the current situation."**

I looked up and saw all of us staring at each other in disbelief, it was Leo who broke the silence.

"So, that's how we were stuck with Umbridge! Fudge forced this, Educational Degree on her that forced her on us! Now, she's got the power to inspect other teachers. I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS! THIS IS UNNACCEPTABLE!" He shouted. Piper clamped her hand over his mouth, as he was attracting uneasy looks from other students, and some teachers by the staff table. We packed up our stuff and ran off, before the Golden Trio could follow us, for fear of being late to our first inspected lesson. However, we need not have worried, as Binns' lesson was still as boring as ever.

She wasn't even lurking in the dark corners of Snape's dungeon. I got back the moonstone essay that I turned in and I got an 'A'. I was told that this was a pass, which was encouraging at this early stage. We left the room quickly, with Hermione chattering in our ears about the grades in our OWLS. We had a quick lunch and left for the North Tower. We stepped into the heavily perfumed room and I sat with Annabeth. Apart from the fearful and eventful first lesson, Divination was extremely boring. I pulled out my dream diary, only to be poked by Annabeth.

"Ow. What did you do that for Annabeth?" I asked.

"Seaweed Brain, use your eyes." I glanced around the room and my eyes fell to a shadowy corner. In the corner, I saw the shadowy figure of Umbridge. She was inspecting our Divination lesson. It was common knowledge that some people thought Trelawny was a fake, and I was incline to believe it too, except my mind kept flashing back to the first lesson. I put the matter from my mind and decided to actually try this lesson, no matter how freaky our teacher was, I wasn't going to try get them sacked. Umbridge chose that moment to draw attention to her,

"Hem Hem!" she coughed. Trelawny, who was handing out copies of the Dream Oracle, spun around.

"Good Afternoon, Professor Trelawny. I trust that you received the note I slipped you?" She said, with a wide smile. Trelawny nodded, and continued to give out her books. Umbridge pulled out an armchair and marched to the front of the room. She plopped down on her armchair and pulled out a bright pink clipboard. Trelawny, obviously disgruntled pulled the shawls over her head and attempted her usual mystic voice.

"Class, we shall be continuing our study of prophetic dreams today. Divide into pairs and interpret the other's dreams, with the aid of, The Oracle. I pulled out the book and opened the book.

"Annabeth, say one of your dreams, we don't want to get in trouble with the toad." I said.

"I don't really remember my dreams. I haven't had a nightmare of Tartarus in absolutely ages! Let's just say I was flying on my owl." She said, beaming. I nodded and opened the oracle.

"Would that be Flying or Owl?"

"Pick any, but be quiet, I wanna hear what the toad says." I opened the book and turned to flying, it said that flying was an omen for a good breakfast. What sort of thing is that? I thought. I too stared at the conversation between Umbridge and Trelawny.

"So, how long exactly have you occupied this post?" Umbridge simpered. Trelawny crossed her arms, before replying

"Almost sixteen years."

"Quite a period." Umbridge replied, quite surprised. "It was Professor Dumbledore who appointed you? Correct?"

"Yes, that's correct." Professor Umbridge made a note on her clipboard.

"And you are the great-great-granddaughter of the well-known seer Cassandra Trelawny."

"Yes."

"However, unless I am mistaken. You are the very first seer in your family since Cassandra Trelawny."

"Er… Yes. These things often skip three generations," Professor Trelawy stuttered. Umbridge's smile grew wider and she noted another thing on the clipboard.

"Well, now that that has been cleared up. I wish for you to make a prediction." Trelawny frowned as though that were something alien.

"Yo-you wish for me to make a prediction? The Inner Sight does not see on command!" she replied, scandalized.

"I see." Umbridge noted, making another note on her clipboard.

"I—but—but… wait!" said Trelawny, attempting her usual mystical voice, but it was marred by her anger. "I think I do see something. Something very dark. Dangerous. You, are in grave peril," she said, pointing her long finger at Umbridge. Umbridge nodded and noted something on her clipboard. Umbridge later walked out, leaving Trelawny standing, her pupils dilated in anger. We walked into Defence Against the Dark Arts and saw Umbridge sitting at her desk, her toad-like face alight with happiness. We walked into the class and got seated in our normal seats. I sat right at the back, along with the demigods.

"I would like all of you to read, Chapter Two, Common Defensive Theories and their Derivation." At this, Hermione's hand darted up.

"I have already read the entire book." She chanted. Umbridge raised an eyebrow and replied, cooly

"If you have read the entire book, you should be able to tell me what Slinkard says about counter-jinxes in Chapter 15."

"He says that counter-jinxes are improperly named. He says that counter jinx is a term people use with their jinxes to make them more acceptable." Hermione then went on about some stuff and I zoned out. However, my attention was brought back when Harry stood up.

"Oh yeah, Quirrel was a brilliant teacher, the only problem was that he had Lord Voldemort attached to the back of his head." This was followed by silence and Umbridge punctured it again.

"I think that another week of detentions will do you some good Mr. Potter." Harry sat back down again. He looked fuming. I glanced about at the demigods and they were all staring at Harry in disbelief. The rest of a lesson passed in a blur. We scurried out of the classroom and I herded the rest of the demigods together. 

"Does anyone know what has happened with Harry in the last few years? All I know is that his parents were killed as a kid and last year he fought Lord Voldemort, who killed his friend." Everyone shook his head, except Annabeth, who seemed to be thinking.

"I think it's time that we confront Dumbledore about this." She stared at the rest of us and Piper added her two cents,

"Guys, Dumbledore will know everything. Also, lets bring some Drachmas, we may need to IM some people." The Golden Trio turned up half way in between her sentence, unbeknownst to Piper. Hermione narrowed her eyes in her direction and we marched off to the Great Hall for Dinner. We couldn't sit together for dinner, but we arranged to meet up after dinner. Piper, who was the best with words, when she knew them convinced McGonagall to give up the password to the gargoyle outside Dumbledore's study. I had dinner quickly and we rushed to the foot of the staircase. Harry had his detention and Ron and Hermione decided to get ahead with their homework. It took a while, but once all the demigods were piled outside, Piper uttered the words,

"Fizzing Whizbees." Leo snorted and the gargoyle showed a pair of stairs, that lead up to Dumbledore's study. I knocked on the door and Dumbledore's voice echoed out.

"Enter." All of us entered, I took in a moment to survey Dumbledore's study. It was truly magnificent. He had a pet Phoenix, that completed the picture of a majestic headmaster. Dumbledore looked surprised to see us, but conjured up chairs. We all sat down.

"So. What is it you wished to talk about? Demigods." He asked. Annabeth explained how we wished to know a bit more about Harry's experiences, to know what Harry was talking about. Dumbledore chuckled and told us the story.

"Well, as you know Harry Potter's parents were murdered by the dark wizard Voldemort. He was brought up at his Aunt and Uncle's house. On his eleventh birthday, Rubeus Hagrid came and collected him. He went to Hogwarts and was sorted into the Gryffindor house. In his first year, he and his friends came to know that Hogwarts was concealing the Philosopher's Stone. Which, Voldemort intended to use to regain his body. Harry and his friends went through a series of challenges and managed to get to the room where the stone was hidden. To Harry's surprise Professor Quirrel was there, instead of Professor Snape, whom they suspected. Quirrel wanted to give the stone to his master, Voldemort and restore him to power. However, he couldn't get it. Harry managed to obtain it though, Voldemort was actually revealed to be on the back of Quirrel's head, and told him to kill Harry. However, since Harry's blood was pure and his cause was just, he didn't die, and Quirrel died by trying to touch Harry.

In his second year, attacks started happening throughout the castle, and Harry could hear a voice saying that he wished to kill. Harry discovers that he is a Parselmouth and can speak to snakes. Thus, many people believe he is the heir of Slytherin, unleashing a monster to try and kill students. However, Harry enters the Chamber of Secrets to help save Ginny Weasley, who was being manipulated by Voldemort to open the Chamber. He used Fawkes and the Sorting Hat to blind and kill the basilisk. He then destroyed the memory of Tom Riddle, and saved us again.

In his third year, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban and was believed to be hunting Harry. As a result, Dementors are stationed around the school and Harry is affected by them. He is helped to fight the dementors by the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin. Harry has multiple close calls with Black when he breaks into the castle. Ron is then kidnapped by a dog and dragged into the Whomping Willow. There he finds out the Black didn't kill his parents. Peter Pettigrew did, who happened to be disguised as Ron's rat. Peter escaped and Lupin, who was a werewolf transformed. Dementors tried to kill Sirius but Harry couldn't drive them off. Hermione used her time turner to save Sirius and Harry who managed to drive them away.

In his fourth year, Harry was put in the Triwizard Tournament. He had to face many threats, such as a dragon, retrieving something from the bottom of a lake in an hour. The final task was going through a maze with multiple threats. He managed to get to the Triwizard Cup at the centre, but Cedric Diggory got there at the same time. At the time, they were transported to a graveyard. Cedric was killed right in front of Harry. Harry's blood was used to bring back Lord Voldemort's body. They dueled but Harry managed to come back alive. That is what has happened to Harry over the last few years."

All of us were quite stunned. He seemed to get in a traumatic experience once a year. That wasn't as bad as demigods, but it was probably worse than most wizards. We needed to know more about Harry's past to connect with what is happening to him right now. We marched up to the common room and went to sleep. That night I had an extremely odd dream. I was running towards a door. I kept running. I wished for the door to open but it didn't. Just as the door was about to open I woke up.

The next few weeks were uneventful, and we spent a lot of time around the Golden Trio. Harry's detentions were finally over and we were all doing well in our studies. However, every night since I learnt about Harry's past, I kept having dreams about running towards that door. Even sometimes, I thought I saw glimpses into Harry's life. I saw him fighting off dementors. Sometimes, I even swore I saw that graveyard. Anyways, the ten of us were sitting in the library, looking up potions ingredients. We were sitting in silence, studying. Hermione broke it by asking Harry an odd question.

'I was wondering,' Hermione said suddenly, 'whether you'd thought any more about Defence Against the Dark Arts, Harry.'

'Course I have,' said Harry grumpily, 'can't forget it, can we, with that hag teaching us-'

'I meant the idea Ron and I had-' Ron cast her an alarmed, threatening kind of look. She frowned at him, '-Oh, all right, the idea I had, then-about you teaching us.' All of us exchanged confused looks. What about Harry teaching us? We didn't know anything about this. Harry spent a lot of time thinking before responding.

"Yeah. I guess I've thought about it a bit.

"And?" Hermione replied, eagerly.

"I dunno. You did listen to me saying it was all about luck, right?" 

"Yes Harry, but look at all you've done. You are the only one who can produce a patronus in the year! They kept rambling on until I interrupted.

"Hmmm… Guys? Why haven't we been told about this? We need to know stuff aswell." I said, bored. They looked ashamed and repeated what they were talking about. Well, other people also wanted to think and talk about it.

"Other people?" Harry asked. "Hermione, I'm a nutter, no one will actually believe me."

"You'd be surprised. We're going to be meeting up at the next Hogsmeade weekend. We can't talk about it anywhere else as Umbridge wouldn't be pleased if she found us what we are up to." With that, they returned back to their work. The seven of us sneaked off to IM some people and discuss strategies. I IMed camp and updated Chiron on our quest. We then IMed Olympus and we tried to talk to Hecate and she wished us well, telling us some information and giving us guidance on what to do from now on. We returned to our respective common rooms at around midnight.

 **Harry:**

I truly enjoyed being with the American Exchange Students, and I sensed Hermione was warming up to them too. However, she insisted on having that list. It was a list of all the suspicious activities that happened so far.

 **Hermione's List**

 **They have all lost one parent**

 **They all speak an old language**

 **They have odd nicknames for each other – Seaweed Brain, Wise Girl, Beauty Queen**

 **They all radiate power**

 **Most of them seem to be older and more mature than fifteen**

 **Percy, Jason seem to know some wandless magic**

 **Percy didn't get wet from the owls.**

 **Percy didn't get hit from the stinksap**

 **They referred to Drachmas. Old Greek currency**

 **They talk about IMing. Not sure what that is**

Truth be told, they sometimes did act suspicious, and being able to perform wandless magic at age fifteen? They must be really powerful. I doubted they were Death Eaters, but I couldn't shake my doubts. I still really liked them, but something was off recently, and it was highlighted in Hermione's list. Anyways, teaching them Defence Against the Dark Arts would be cool. I couldn't wait for the Hogsmeade visit. I crawled up to my dorm and passed out on the bed. That night I again dreamed about the door. I again woke up. However, something suspicious happened. Percy woke up at the exact same time as me. It certainly wasn't daybreak…

 **Cliffhanger. Sorry guys. Anyways, I need some more feedback and I would love to hear more opinions on what god should aid Lord Voldemort. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter. It definitely revolves more around the demigods. Hope it was a nice change of pace. Next chapter will be Hogsmeade, so that chapter will feature Harry Potter more. But I promise to try and feature the demigods as much as possible throughout the story. Anyways, 3500 VIEWS! YEAH!**

 **~RedGods**


	15. Hogsmeade

**Yeah! We hit 4000 Views. For what people want to see as the villain, I got two votes on Ares, and one on another god. Thanks for the support recently.**

 **Chapter 15: Leo**

It was the morning of the first Hogsmeade weekend and I was ecstatic. Over the past few days, Harry and Ron had opened up to us about their new Defence Against the Dark Arts group. We had tracked down a lot of people who wanted to join as well and we was extremely grateful. We were sent here to protect Harry, but so far, nothing really seemed to want to kill him, except Umbridge. Over the last few weeks though I kept having dreams about a door. Apparently, every other demigod was also having dreams about that door. Usually demigod dreams were prophetic, so we were about to confront that door sometime soon. Anyways, it was the weekend and I was ready to enjoy Hogsmeade! According to all the wizards, it was one of the best places they had ever been.

I just tossed on my orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt and some faded blue jeans. I also wore a black jacket. **(I checked, the wizards can wear muggle clothing when going into Hogsmeade)** I grabbed some money because I was probably going to be entranced by all the shops. I rushed downstairs into the common room, with my money-bag hanging loosely by my side and my permission slip waving in my hand. Hermione was sitting by the fire, in her armchair, deep in thought. I noticed she was also wearing a Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt with black jeans. She was wearing a navy-blue sweater. She didn't notice me walk in so I waved my hand in front of her face. She was obviously startled and flipped me over. I went weightless and I was thrown to the ground with unbelievable force. I immediately groaned and Annabeth jumped up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Leo, are you hurt?" She asked, concerned.

"Yea, Yeah I'm fine Annabeth. Just next time I wave my hand in front of your face, don't flip me," I said, visibly wincing as I stood up. She apologized multiple times but I waved her off.

"So? Should be get going?" She asked, I nodded and we trotted out of the common room. I didn't pay attention to the riddle, but Annabeth answered it instantly. We ran down the winding staircases, running to the Great Hall to have breakfast, meet up with The Seven, and go into Hogsmeade. Once we ran into the Great Hall, we trudged over to the Hufflepuff Table, where all seven of us decided to sit. The Golden Trio wanted to sit at the Ravenclaw table, as they wanted to go over what to do in Hogsmeade. Annabeth rushed towards Percy and they kissed before sitting down and continuing their breakfast. I sat in between Jason and Frank, because why not? I grabbed a sandwich and started munching on it. I threw my arms around Jason and Frank and launched into a series of bad jokes. I won't say what they were as you would probably run away screaming. It was that bad.

Anyways, after a long and hearty breakfast, we ran to the courtyard, where the rest of school that was above third year was waiting to go into Hogsmeade. The seven of us ran to McGonagall, handed our permission slips that were signed by 'Chiron Brunner.' McGonagall flashed us a smile, showing that she approved, before ushering us away. We ran towards the Golden Trio, who all waved at us and smiled.

"Thanks for helping us!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It was the least we could do Hermione," Annabeth replied. They continued to compliment each other and it turned into a conversation about school work. Harry and Percy were in deep conversation about Defence Against the Dark Arts. Harry was nervous about talking in front of just the nine of us. He said, that talking in front of like thirteen or fifteen people wouldn't be that much different, especially since most of the school thought that he was insane. They continued to talk about theories about some lessons and ways to train people in practical defence. Ron and Jason were deep in thought about Quidditch. Piper stood around and also talked about Quidditch. She had been reading up on it, Jason had said it was amazing. That left Frank, Hazel and I to talk about whatever. We started to talk about what subjects we enjoyed. Then the conversation morphed to what we were going to do in Hogsmeade. I particularly wanted to go to Zonko's Joke Shop. Honeydukes also sounded like a place that I would love. We all decided that the Three Broomsticks sounded like a place we would all enjoy. As soon as we were given the go clear to go to Hogsmeade, we lined up and walked past Filch. He mainly just spared some students looks of disdain, but occasionally sniffed the air. When Harry walked past, he started sniffing at him. We all looked confused, but Harry narrated his encounter with Filch in the owlery, it was so hilarious. I couldn't breathe. Everyone else thought it was funny, but no one lost it like me.

The three of them decided to give us the tour around Hogsmeade, before rendezvousing at the Hog's Head in three hours. It turns out the Zonko's had about every different wizarding joke known to wizard kind. There were dungbombs, fireworks, frog spawn soup and several different joke items that would make anyone happy for ages. I bought quite a lot of joke stuff and I decided I would put it to good use one of these days. Honeydukes was next on our tour and it was amazing. Much like Zonko's, there was plenty of sweets. I spent ages looking at all the sweets. Percy nagged the shop owner if they had any blue sweets, while Annabeth scolded him. All of us shoved a lot of money towards them, almost cleaning them out of many things, such as Sugar Quills, Acid Pops, and many more intriguing sweets that made my tongue yearn for more. We managed to tear ourselves away from there. We then entered the Three Broomsticks, but didn't buy anything. We would buy whatever we wanted in the Hog's Head. We ran to the Hog's Head, awaiting the few students, who didn't think Harry was nuts to arrive.

In my opinion, the Hog's Head was nothing like the Three Broomsticks. It was a very small, dingy, very dirty bar that gave off a strange odour of something that I couldn't place my finger on. The windows were very grimy and dirty, allowing very little light to penetrate the room. Instead, there were candles that adorned the wooden rickety tables that were set around the room. The floor seemed to be of dirt and nothing more, but I reached down and detected that it was instead stone, simply carrying the filth of many decades piled on top of it. There was a man at the bar whose whole head was wrapped in dirty grey bandages, though he was still managing to gulp endless glasses of some smoking, fiery substance through a slit over his mouth; two figures shrouded in hoods sat at a table in one of the windows; I probably thought that they were dementors if they had not been talking in strong Yorkshire accents, and in a shadowy corner beside the fireplace sat a witch with a thick, black veil that fell to her toes. They could just see the tip of her nose because it caused the veil to protrude slightly. The people in the Hog's Head were very weird. Anyways, we sat at a few tables.

"Anyway Hermione, other than us lot, who's coming?" Harry asked.

"Just a couple of people." Harry managed to breathe a sigh of relief. I could relate, it definitely seemed that talking wasn't his strong suit. "In fact, I think that's them now." We all craned our necks to see the pub door swing open. The musty light managed to permeate the bar once again, but was quickly overshadowed by a multitude of people walking in.

First came Neville with Dean and Lavender, who were closely followed by Parvati and Padma Patil with Cho and one of her usually-giggling girlfriends, then (on her own and looking so dreamy she might have walked in by accident) Luna Lovegood; then Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff girl with a long plait clown her back whose name I did not know; three Ravenclaw boys I was pretty sure were called Anthony Goldstein, Michael Corner and Terry Boot, Ginny, closely followed by a tall skinny blond boy with an upturned nose whom I didn't recognize at all. Finally, the last few people walked in. It was Fred and George Weasley with their friend Lee Jordan, all three of whom were carrying large paper bags crammed with Zonko's merchandise.

My eyes bulged, we expected like six, seven people tops. But this? The same thing seemed to be going through the rest of the demigods minds as well. Harry however, looked utterly bewildered. He turned to Hermione,

"A couple of people? You call this a couple of people?" He asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, well, the idea seemed quite popular and a lot of people caught on," Hermione said happily. "Percy, Jason, Ron, could you please pull up a couple more chairs?" They nodded and pulled up a lot more chairs, for the new people. Fred and George approached the barman and said

"Could we please have—" he did a quick head count, "Thirty-Five Butterbeers please?" The barman scoffed, and then pulled out multiple dusty butterbeers from under the bar. "Cough up everyone, I haven't got enough gold for all of this!" Everyone started to pass around their gold. Eventually, everyone paid for their butterbeers and sat down, looking eagerly up at Harry. I shrugged at the rest of the demigods and we decided we might as well mimic them.

'Er,' said Hermione, her voice slightly higher than usual out of nerves. 'Well-er-hi.'

The group focused its attention on her instead, though eyes continued to dart back regularly to Harry. Except us of course. We just focused on Hermione, eager to hear what she had to say.

'Well ... erm ... well, you know why you're here. Erm ... well, Harry here had the idea-I mean' (Harry had thrown her a sharp look) 'I had the idea-that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defence Against the Dark Arts-and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is doing with us- '(Hermione's voice became suddenly much stronger and more confident) '- because nobody could call that Defence Against the Dark Arts-' ('Hear, hear,' said Anthony Goldstein, and Hermione looked heartened) '-Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands.'

She paused, looked sideways at Harry and went on, 'And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just in theory but doing the real spells-'

'You want to pass your Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL too, though, I bet?' said Michael Corner, who was watching her closely.

'Of course I do,' said Hermione at once. 'But more than that, I want to be properly trained in defence because ... because ...' she took a great breath and finished, 'because Lord Voldemort is back.'

The reaction was immediate and predictable. Cho's friend shrieked and slopped Butterbeer down herself; Terry Boot gave a kind of involuntary twitch; Padma Patil shuddered, and Neville gave an odd yelp that he managed to turn into a cough. All of them, however, looked fixedly, even eagerly, at Harry.

'Well ... that's the plan, anyway,' said Hermione. 'If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to-'

'Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?' said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

'Well, Dumbledore believes it-' Hermione began.

'You mean, Dumbledore believes him,' said the blond boy, nodding at Harry.

'Who are you?' said Ron, rather rudely.

'Zacharias Smith,' said the boy, 'and I think we've got the right to know exactly what makes him say You-Know-Who's back.'

'Look,' said Hermione, intervening swiftly, 'that's really not what this meeting was supposed to be about-'

'It's OK, Hermione,' said Harry.

It had just dawned on him why there were so many people there. He thought Hermione should have seen this coming. Some of these people-maybe even most of them-had turned up in the hopes of hearing Harry's story firsthand.

'What makes me say You-Know-Who's back?' he repeated, looking Zacharias straight in the face. 'I saw him. But Dumbledore told the whole school what happened last year, and if you didn't believe him, you won't believe me, and I'm not wasting an afternoon trying to convince anyone.'

The whole group seemed to have held its breath while Harry spoke. Harry had the impression that even the barman was listening. He was wiping the same glass with the filthy rag, making it steadily dirtier.

Zacharias said dismissively, 'All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know-'

'If you've come to hear exactly what it looks like when Voldemort murders someone I can't help you,' Harry said. His temper, always so close to the surface these days, was rising again. He did not take his eyes from Zacharias Smith's aggressive face, and was determined not to look at Cho. 'I don't want to talk about Cedric Diggory, all right? So if that's what you're here for, you might as well clear out.' Percy jumped straight to Harry's defense.

"Well, if you don't believe Harry you have no purpose in being here. All of us believe Harry-," he said, indicating the rest of the seven, "—believe Harry, and we were in America. We have listened to his point of view and it is painfully obvious that Voldemort is back. If you don't want to believe him. So be it. But don't force your uneducated opinions on us!" Percy reasoned, glaring at him. Annabeth was looking at Percy in shock, as if he had never said something that made sense like that. Percy shot Harry a look that said _You can do this_. Harry nodded and continued to explain some stuff, but wasn't getting very far. Hermione piped up again,

'So,' said Hermione, her voice very high-pitched again. 'So ... like I was saying ... if you want to learn some defence, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet and where we're going to-'

'Is it true,' interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Harry, 'that you can produce a Patronus?'

There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.

'Yeah,' said Harry slightly defensively.

'A corporeal Patronus?'

Harry nodded, then asked her a question, "You don't know Madam Bones do you?" I didn't know any Madam Bones, but the girl smiled.

'She's my auntie,' she said. 'I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So-is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?'

'Yes,' said Harry.

'Blimey, Harry!' said Lee, looking deeply impressed. 'I never knew that!'

'Mum told Ron not to spread it around,' said Fred, grinning at Harry. 'She said you got enough attention as it was.'

'She's not wrong,' mumbled Harry, and I laughed, along with other people. The demigods, even though we knew all this, looked impressed. I certainly tried to look smug, but Hazel saw me and slapped my wrist.

The wizards, continued their admiration session

'And did you kill a Basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?' demanded Terry Boot. 'That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year ...'

'Er-yeah, I did, yeah,' said Harry.

Justin Finch-Fletchley whistled; the Creevey brothers exchanged awestruck looks and Lavender Brown said 'Wow!' softly. It seemed that Harry's resolve was strengthening and it seemed that the crowd was warming up to the idea.

'And in our first year,' said Neville to the group at large, 'he saved that Philological Stone- '

'Philosopher's,' hissed Hermione.

'Yes, that-from You-Know-Who,' finished Neville.

Hannah Abbotts eyes were as round as Galleons.

'And that's not to mention,' said Cho 'all the tasks he had to get through in the Triwizard Tournament last year-getting past dragons and merpeople and Acromantula and things ...'

There was a murmur of impressed agreement around the table. Hermione intervened and decided that most people would want to take lessons from Harry and said,

'Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week-'

'Hang on,' said Angelina, 'we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice.'

'No,' said Cho, 'nor with ours.'

'Nor ours,' added Zacharias Smith.

'I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone,' said Hermione, slightly impatiently, 'but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters-' She was interrupted, by Ernie Macmillan, who according to Piper and Hazel, was an extremely pompous person.

"Well said! Personally, I believe that this is the most important thing to come during this whole year, learning to defend ourselves is of the utmost priority. It is even more important that our OWLs! I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher on us at this critical period. Obviously, they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, but to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells-'

'We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defence Against the Dark Arts,' said Hermione, 'is that she's got some ... some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilise us against the Ministry.'

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, 'Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army.'

'What?' said Harry, who, like most of the crowd, was completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.

'Yes, he's got an army of Heliopaths,' said Luna solemnly.

'No, he hasn't,' snapped Hermione.

'Yes, he has,' said Luna.

'What are Heliopaths?' asked Neville, looking blank.

'They're spirits of fire,' said Luna, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever, 'great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of-'

'They don't exist, Neville,' said Hermione tartly.

'Oh, yes, they do!' said Luna angrily.

'I'm sorry, but where's the proof of that?' snapped Hermione.

'There are plenty of eye-witness accounts. Just because you're so narrow-minded you need to have everything shoved under your nose before you-'

'Hem, hem,' said Ginny, in such a good imitation of Professor Umbridge that several people looked around in alarm and then laughed. 'Weren't we trying to decide how often we're going to meet and have defence lessons?'

'Yes,' said Hermione at once, 'yes, we were, you're right, Ginny.'

'Well, once a week sounds cool,' said Lee Jordan.

'As long as-' began Angelina.

'Yes, yes, we know about the Quidditch,' said Hermione in a tense voice. 'Well, the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet ...'

This was rather more difficult; the whole group fell silent.

'Library?' suggested Katie Bell after a few moments.

'I can't see Madam Pince being too chuffed with us doing jinxes in the library,' said Harry.

'Maybe an unused classroom?' said Dean.

'Yeah,' said Ron, 'McGonagall might let us have hers, she did when Harry was practising for the Tri wizard.' However, at this, Harry's face fell and most of us were pretty sure that we wouldn't be able to use an abandoned classroom.

"Well, we'll manage to find somewhere. Anyways…" she said, brandishing a piece of parchment, and a quill, "I think everyone should write their names down on this piece of parchment. By signing this piece of parchment you agree that you will not tell Umbridge, or anyone else, what we're up to." She passed it to me, who pulled out my quill and signed, without question. The rest of the demigods did it as well. Fred, George and Lee did it happily. However, most people were looking skeptical about putting something like that in writing. It was Ernie who burst out though,

"Well, we are prefects, and if anyone found that list lying around, well…" Annabeth interrupted him,

"You just said that this group was the most important thing this year," she said, tartly.

'I-yes,' said Ernie, 'yes, I do believe that, it's just-'

'Ernie, do you really think I'd leave that list lying around?' said Hermione testily.

'No. No, of course not,' said Ernie, looking slightly less anxious. 'I-yes, of course I'll sign.' Nobody after Ernie objected at all, however, most people still looked slightly panicky. Fred broke the silence,

"Well, anyways, I better get going. George, Lee and I have a few items to purchase before heading back up to school." With that, he walked out of the door, and many people followed suit. Soon, it was just us ten left in the Hog's Head. We too, soon left. We just walked around Hogsmeade for a while, drinking in it's natural beauty and wonder. We continued the tour and by the end, we had probably cased every inch of Hogsmeade. Harry, still had a dreamy expression on his face when we walked back to the school. I wondered what that was about.

The rest of the weekend passed in what felt like seconds. I walked down to the Ravenclaw common room and looked at the notice board. There was the usual new notices, Flich's new sets of rules, Quidditch time tables, yadda yadda. However, what caught my attention was a sign, printed in all black capitals.

 **BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS** ****

 **All student organisations, societies, teams, groups and clubs are** ****

 **henceforth disbanded.** ****

 **An organisation, society, team, group or club is hereby defined** ****

 **as a regular meeting of three or more students.** ****

 **Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor** ****

 **(Professor Umbridge).** ****

 **No student organisation, society, team, group or club may exist** ****

 **without the knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor.** ****

 **Any student found to have formed, or to belong to, an organisation,** ****

 **society, team, group or club that has not been approved by** ****

 **the High Inquisitor will be expelled.** ****

 **The above is in accordance with Educational Decree** ****

 **Number Twenty-four.** ****

 **Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor**

This peaked my attention as it had been two days ago that we formed that DADA club yesterday. I rushed down to the Great Hall and ran to the Gryffindor Table, where everyone else was. I saw Ron and Harry exclaiming to Hermione this complication. Everyone else was looking at her for answers.

"Hermione! This isn't a coincidence. Someone must've told!" Ron exclaimed

"That's impossible!" She replied

"Yeah. Just because you think they are all so trustworthy…"

"No Ron! I put a jinx on that parchment and if anyone ran off to tell Umbridge, they will regret it. We will also know exactly who it was."

"Well, what'll happen to them?" Piper asked, intrigued.

"Let's say, they'll make Eloise Midgeon's acne look like a couple of cute freckles," Hermione said smugly. Pretty soon, most of the other Gryffindors were descending upon us, all saying the same thing,

"Did you see that sign?"

"D'you reckon they know?"

"What are we going to do?" They all looked at us for answers. Harry answered

"Of course, we're going to keep it going." They thumped him on the back and stalked off to finish their breakfast. The students from other houses came in our direction as well. However, Frank and Annabeth shooed them off. Hermione kept commentating though,

"No one looks very spotty, hmmm… no one seems to have told." She concluded after everyone backed off. The first lesson of the day was interesting though. Hedwig appeared to be injured and Harry ran off to try get her wing mended. He returned shortly, and said that someone intercepted the owl, probably to read his letter. The rest of the week flashed by. Next thing we knew, Harry said that he found a place for us to practice Defence Against the Dark Arts. It was apparently called the Room of Requirement and it would only appear if someone had a real need and urge to use it. It could be accessed on the seventh floor corridor. Today, we all ran up to the seventh floor corridor and Harry told us what we needed to do. All thirty five of us were waiting for this Room to present itself. Harry paced back and forth three times, until…

"Harry! Look!" Annabeth shouted. I turned and saw great, polished bronze door had appeared in the wall. Percy reached out and opened it. Harry and Percy ushered everyone inside. Once they closed the door and walked in themselves I looked around.

The room was very spacious, with torches flickering all around the room, the walls were lined with wooden bookcases and instead of chairs there were large silk cushions on the floor. A set of shelves at the far end of the room carried a range of instruments such as Sneakoscopes, Secrecy Sensors and a large, cracked Foe-Glass

'These will be good when we're practising Stunning,' said Ron enthusiastically, prodding one of the cushions with his foot. Annabeth and Percy were talking about the architecture of the room and how lovely it was. Hermione however, was extremely interested in the books

'And just look at these books!' said Hermione excitedly, running a finger along the spines of the large leather-bound tomes. 'A Compendium of Common Curses and their Counter-Actions ... The Dark Arts Outsmarted ... Self-Defensive Spellwork ... wow ...' She looked around at Harry, her face glowing, and he saw that the presence of hundreds of books had finally convinced Hermione that what they were doing was right. 'Harry, this is wonderful, there's everything we need here!'

Harry then turned the large majority of the students standing there.

"Well, you all found this place. Good. First, we need to elect a leader." Harry said.

"You're leader." Cho piped up. There was a general murmur of assent and Harry nodded.

"Now, we need to elect a name. It will develop some unity."

"Can we be the Anti-Umbridge League?" Jason asked.

"Or the Ministry of Magic are Morons group?" Fred suggested.

'I was thinking,' said Hermione, frowning at Fred, 'more of a name that didn't tell everyone what we were up to, so we can refer to it safely outside meetings.'

'The Defence Association?' said Cho. 'The DA for short, so nobody knows what we're talking about?'

'Yeah, the DA's good,' said Ginny. 'Only let's make it stand for Dumbledore's Army, because that's the Ministry's worst fear, isn't it?'

There was a good deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at this.

'All in favour of the DA?' said Hermione bossily, kneeling up on her cushion to count. 'That's a majority-motion passed!'

She pinned the piece of parchment with all of their signatures on it on to the wall and wrote across the top in large letters:

DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY

Harry then turned around and spread his hands.

"Well members of Dumbledore's Army. Time to get practicing!"

 **There. Done. Chapter 15 Completed! Thanks for the support. I hope to get more recommendations about who the Big Bad will be. Anyways, I am grateful for all the support and it's amazing. Next chapter will be Dumbledore's Army. Sorry if I skipped a lot of the book, but I kinda wanted to progress it a bit more. The prophetic dreams will continue. I have a plan when it comes to the like, final fight. It's kinda a long way off, but still. It's fun. Anyways, thanks for everything!**

 **~RedGods**


	16. Practice and Quidditch

**Chapter 16: Annabeth**

The Room of Requirement was everything I could've hoped for. The rest of the seven and I really hadn't done too much combative magic. I also realised that this room opened up a world of possibilities of where to practice our sparring. We had sometimes snuck out to the Forbidden Forest to do that, this would be a much better alternative. Before I could think much more about what else we could do in this room, Harry interrupted my train of thoughts.

"Right then guys. Let's get practicing. We'll start off with something easy. We'll practice, the Disarming Charm, _Expelliarmus._ Everyone divide into pairs and practice." There were thirty five people in Dumbledore's Army, but Harry wasn't taking part. I paired up with Percy, and Jason paired up with Piper. Hazel and Frank were paired up and Leo partnered up with Neville. I predicted that most of us would be quite adept at this, but I wasn't too sure. I flashed a smug smile towards Percy and he returned it.

"You ready to get destroyed Seaweed Brain?" I taunted.

"You're not going to destroy me Wise Girl." He replied.

"Everyone, cast your charms in three, two one—"

" _Expelliarmus!"_ I shouted. Percy and I shouted the charm in unison and both our wands rocketed out of our hands. I glanced around, looking for my wand and located it on top of the bookshelves. Percy's wand ended up hitting Ernie in the head, and Percy, apologizing profusely returned shortly after myself. I glanced around and saw the Jason was hopelessly looking for his wand, and Frank's wand was off somewhere, as he was also looking for it. Leo kept disarming Neville, as he was far too quick for him. Harry then started to walk around the room, praising and correcting different people's form. Percy and I were quite equally matched, same with Piper and Jason. Frank was getting destroyed by Hazel, and Leo was obliterating Neville.

Ginny was teamed with Michael Corner; she was doing very well, whereas Michael was either very bad or unwilling to jinx her. Ernie Macmillan was flourishing his wand unnecessarily, giving his partner time to get in under his guard; the Creevey brothers were enthusiastic but erratic and mainly responsible for all the books leaping off the shelves around them; Luna Lovegood was similarly patchy, occasionally sending Justin Finch-Fletchleys wand spinning out of his hand, at other times merely causing his hair to stand on end.

Percy and I continuously disarmed each other, and it was rather enjoyable, but I definitely preferred fighting with a blade, rather than a wand. Suddenly, Harry blew his whistle very loudly and everyone's head snapped towards him.

"That was quite good, but there is room for improvement. Let's try that again." Again, Percy and I kept disarming each other, both of us probably disarmed the other an equal number of times. However, the wands flying in every direction gave us an exercise routine; dodging the wands that fly at you. Harry soon came over to investigate and slightly corrected both of our grips. We continued to disarm each other for ages, by the end, I was covered in sweat from all the running about. Harry blew his whistle sharply again.

"Well, that was a pretty good training session. However, we've just run out of time. Same time, same place, next week?"

"Sooner!" Dean Thomas echoed.

"Don't forget, we've got Quidditch Practice!" Jason shouted.

"Lets say Wednesday. We will select different days for meetings from then on, for now, let's go." The Room of Requirement slowly emptied, only leaving the ten of us. All of the demigods wanted to stay by and practice. The Golden Trio insisted on waiting for us, but we waved them off. I came up with the brilliant excuse of, we just want to practice for like thirty more minutes. They seemed to buy it and snuck back off to Gryffindor House's common room.

I popped the new bead off my necklace and it sprung into a celestial bronze dagger, it was an exact replica of the one I carried since I was eight. The old one was still somewhere in Tartarus. Anyways, we decided to do with a seven man/woman spar session. Percy drew Riptide, I drew my knife , Jason drew his Gladius. Piper drew her dagger and Frank drew his bow. Hazel drew her cavalry sword while Leo pulled out a hammer from his tool belt.

"Three, two, one—GO!" Percy shouted. We all ran towards the centre and broke off into smaller skirmishes. Percy and Jason started dueling, while Frank and Leo started. Frank was trying to keep his distance while Leo was trying to close the gap and smack Frank with his hammer. The three of us, engaged in a three-way duel. After ten minutes of grueling, rolling, stabbing and slashing, I finally managed to get my knife to Hazel's throat, who accepted defeat and walked away. Fighting against Piper was difficult, as we both had close range weapons.

I advanced onto Piper and feinted. As predicted, Piper leapt backwards and I pressed my advantage. I pressed her and began to attack her. I stabbed her and forced her to keep blocking my strikes, never allowing her to begin an attack on me. Finally, after a few minutes of dueling, I managed to feint around her stab, roll behind her and press my knife to her throat. She also accepted defeat and walked off. I never actually watched the boys fight, Leo and Frank were both exhausted, and neither could really defeat the other, as Leo dodged Frank's arrows, and Frank managed to evade Leo's Hammer. I turned and faced Percy, who was still sparring with Jason. They were both slashing, stabbing, rolling and attempting all the different maneuvers possible. Percy somersaulted over Jason and slashed at his feet, throwing Jason off balance. Percy pressed his advantage and Jason kept having to backtrack. Finally, Percy managed to sweep out Jason's leg from out underneath him and pinned him to the ground. Jason tapped out. Frank and Leo finally mutually forfeited. Finally it was Percy and I.

"Scared Wise Girl?"

"You wish Seaweed Brain!" With that, we charged and we were locked in a fierce battle. We had sparred together so often that when he lunged, I could backtrack and vice versa. We knew each other's fighting styles so well that neither of us could beat the other. After about twenty minutes of this, we both forfeited. Percy kept trying to back me up into a wall, so he could corner me and beat me. But I wouldn't let that happen. We kept circling each other. In the end the forfeit was worth it. We both were sweating fiercely. We were just packing up, when Hermione came in, looking suspicious.

"Uh, guys, we were getting worried, you didn't turn up to the common room, we just got worried." Hermione said. We all looked our best to look normal, thankfully, we had all re-attatched our weapons to our necklaces.

"We were just practicing the disarming charm somemore, we wanted to try master it." I said. Hermione nodded, but there was a glint in her eye and I thought that she might be onto us. Quickly, we packed up and dashed back to our common rooms. The next few weeks, the DA Lessons were extremely fun. We had practiced multiple jinxes and hexes and all of us were extremely good at combative magic. After every DA Lesson, we would stay back and practice our swordplay after every lesson. Also, we started sneaking out to the Forbidden Forest at least once a week to practice more. Hermione had devised a clever way to schedule meetings, so we always knew when we could practice swordplay or when not to. I had a sneaking feeling that we were being watched on a particular session yesterday.

We decided to meet up at the Great Hall, just before dinner. Then we would run down to the Forbidden Forest, saying that we wanted to go for a swim. We dashed down to the edge of the forest. Hazel manipulated the mist, creating an illusion that we weren't there. Throughout the hour that we were practicing, I felt that someone was spying on us. I was in the middle of hand to hand combat with Frank, when I heard a branch snap behind me. Everyone's eyes darted towards that area. Jason summoned the winds, but thought better as it we may be seen by a wizard. We all rushed towards the area, but it was empty.

"I can detect some magical presence was in this area." Hazel said.

"How can you tell?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, maybe it comes by being able to manipulate the mist, I can just feel that a magical presence was felt here, possibly a wizard or a witch." We all nodded gravely, but Leo gained our attention,

"Holy Hephaestus, GUYS! We've been here for just over an hour! We need to get back to the castle, or everyone will wonder where we were." We dashed back up to the castle, Percy drying us off with his water powers. We got the the Great Hall and separated into our House Tables. I ran off to the Ravenclaw table, I sat with Leo, Padma and Luna and we talked about the looming Quidditch match. I was on the Ravenclaw team, but it was Gryffindor vs Slytherin. All of the Ravenclaws would be supporting the Gryffindors, as no one wanted to support Slytherin. I had a quick dinner, and we rushed off to finish the Charms essay set by Flitwick. I still couldn't shake that someone had seen us practicing.

 **Hermione:  
**

Where did the American students vanish off to? During DA meetings, they insisted staying thirty more minutes. I started to grow curious and I sometimes spied on them. I never actually caught them doing anything, I always arrived when they were packing up, but I felt that something was wrong. They also seemed to be disappearing from the Great Hall just before dinner. They said that they wanted to go for a swim in the Black Lake, but I didn't think so. So just yesterday I tailed them outside, using Harry's old cloak that I borrowed without his permission. I just ran after them, I found them in the Forbidden Forest. I heard some grunting and the clanging of metal. I ran around a tree, and saw them in a clearing. Oh my god. They were all spinning around, using swords, knives daggers and an assortment of weapons. They were moving with blinding speed, punching, rolling, slashing and stabbing at each other. They moved flawlessly, seemingly knowing each other's moves. After about ten minutes of this spar, they moved onto hand to hand combat. They weren't using wands! They kept jabbing, somersaulting, rolling, sweeping and so many fighting maneuvers that it made my head spin. Watching them fight was hypnotizing, I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. I wasn't looking where I was going and stepped on a branch. The cracking sound alerted them to my presence. They obviously didn't know it was me, but they knew someone was there. I saw Jason momentarily jump very high, almost as though he were flying. I heard them conversing,

"I can detect some magical presence was in this area." Hazel said. What? She could detect magical presence, what was that supposed to mean? The others were also mystified, and Piper replied

"How can you tell?" Piper asked.

"I don't know, maybe it comes by being able to manipulate the mist, I can just feel that a magical presence was felt here, possibly a wizard or a witch." The Mist? What was the mist. I had absolutely no idea what they were on about. I decided that I better run back up to the castle, I was running, but I heard something that was lost in the wind.

"Holy Hephaestus, GUYS! We've been here for just over an hour! We need to get back to the castle, or everyone will wonder where we were." I heard the thumping of their feet, and I picked up the pace. While I was running, many things went through my head. Holy Hephaestus? The Mist? Them fighting with swords? This was way too weird. I made a silent oath not to tell Harry and Ron, until I figured out what was happening. I turned around to see where they were and I saw water collecting in a ball above their heads. I saw Percy twiddling his thumbs, and he controlled the water off their bodies. He then splashed the water off somewhere. What!? I thought. I knew that Percy showed some talents of wandless magic, but that was insane! They were 15! How were they that powerful? Oh my god. I ran back to the Great Hall, I arrived just before themselves and I sat down and ate, with a million ideas buzzing through my brain.

"Earth to Hermione?" Ron said, waving his hand in front of my face. I shook my head, shaking myself out of my stupor,

"Huh? What?" Ron frowned, as if my answer was alien.

"I said, if you were coming to watch the Quidditch match."

"Yeah! Of course I am Ron." Harry and Ron grinned and went back to devouring their food.

 **-=TIME SKIP=-**

For the next few weeks, I spent hours in the library, combing through books about Greek Mythology, trying to connect the dots between _Holy Hephaestus,_ and them. I had found nothing, except Percy's full name, _Perseus_ was the name of some son of Zeus who killed Medusa. They had said that they were all half Greek and that was probably it. I found similarities between Percy and Perseus. Both had lost their fathers, except Perseus' dad was Zeus, god of the sky, while Percy's was a wizard. No correlation at all. I slammed down another book about Greek mythology and went to bed. The Quidditch Match was tomorrow and I promised I would be there.

 **Jason:  
** Today it was time for the Quidditch Match! I was extremely nervous. I started to go off food, Ron was in the same boat as me. We were both unwilling to eat.

"C'mon Jason, Ron, you need to eat something." We both shrugged.

"C'mon Sparky, listen, you need to eat." Piper soothed. I knew she was charmspeaking, but I couldn't help myself. I felt the desire and craving to eat, and I fulfilled the desire. I had a few slices of bread and about three glasses of Pumpkin Juice. I felt much better after being filled with food, but Ron still had barely touched his scrambled eggs. Suddenly,

"Hello." A dreamy voice said behind me. Luna had drifted over from the Ravenclaw table, but didn't sit down like Leo and Annabeth. "I'm supporting Gryffindor." She said, gesturing to her hat. "Look what it does!" She reached up and tapped her hat with her wand and the lion roared. Everyone in the nearby vicinity jumped away. I roared with laughter as she drifted away, having made her point. Soon, far too soon, I was walking into the changing rooms. Getting ready for the match. The three of us walked in while Angelina, who had already changed was laying out the game plan. I quickly changed into the robes, but Ron, who was still nervous and kept putting his robes on wrong. Katie Bell finally took pity on him and went to help him.

'OK, I've only just found out the final line-up for Slytherin,' said Angelina, consulting a piece of parchment. 'Last year's Beaters, Derrick and Bole, have left, but it looks as though Montague's replaced them with the usual gorillas, rather than anyone who can fly particularly well. They're two blokes called Crabbe and Goyle, I don't know much about them-'

'We do,' said Harry and Ron together.

'Well, they don't look bright enough to tell one end of a broom from the other,' said Angelina, pocketing her parchment, 'but then I was always surprised Derrick and Bole managed to find their way on to the pitch without signposts.'

'Crabbe and Goyle are in the same mould,' Harry assured her.

I could hear hundreds of footsteps mounting the banked benches of the spectators' stands. I was extremely nervous and I was very nervous. Finally, Angelina spoke again,

"It's time guys. C'mon let's go. Good luck everyone." She muttered, in a hushed voice. I shouldered my Nimbus Two Thousand and One, and wandered out of the changing rooms, in single file. The light was blinding and as we walked out onto the pitch, there was a roar emitting from the stadium. The Slytherin team was smirking at us,

"Captains, shake hands." Madam Hooch ordered. They both shook, appearing more to be crushing each other's hands. After this, Madam Hooch raised the whistle to her mouth and blew. The balls were released and I dashed towards the quaffle, barely catching it, from beneath the nose of a Slytherin chaser. I could hear the commentary of Lee Jordan, a friend of the Weasley twins emanating from the stadium.

"And it's Grace, new find by Angelina, flying with supreme speed. Ducks Warrington, spins Montague, dodges a bludger sent by Goyle. Shoots, and HE SCORES!" He shouted, as I threw the ball through the hoops. The Slytherin keeper, threw the ball back to Montague, who streaked up the pitch.

"Montague catches the Quaffle, Montague heading back up the pitch and-nice Bludger there from George Weasley, that's a Bludger to the head for Montague, he drops the Quaffle, caught by Katie Bell, Katie Bell of Gryffindor reverse-passes to Jason Grace, who just scored. Grace is away. He dodges Warrington, avoid another bludger, this time sent by Crabbe, HE SHOOTS! Oh… brilliant save by Bletchly. The crowd are loving this! What are they singing?

 **'Weasley cannot save a thing,** ****

 **He cannot block a single ring,** ****

 **That's why Slytherins all sing:** ****

 **Weasley is our King.** ****

 **'Weasley was born in a bin** ****

 **He always lets the Quaffle in** ****

 **Weasley will make sure we win** ****

 **Weasley is our King.'**

I was extremely angry by what was being sung. I blocked out the song, blocked out Lee's commentary and turned into an animal. My mind went on autopilot. Steal, spin, dodge, shoot. I continued this pattern and zoned out. I returned when Angelina shouted her approval. We were winning. 100-70. I had apparently scored eight of those goals. Ron wasn't saving anything, but it didn't matter. Harry had apparently saw the snitch and dived towards the Slytherin end. I was transfixed and the crowd went wild. Malfoy and Harry were next to each other, but Harry managed to catch the snitch. The stadium erupted. We descended to the ground, shouting ourselves hoarse. I walked off, trying to find the demigods, who complimented me profusely. I returned to the changing room, but it turned out that Harry and the Weasley twins were kicked off the team by Umbridge.

I just hung dejectedly around the fire, not feeling like celebrating at all. Percy came up and thought of something to cheer me up.

"Jase. C'mon! The rest of the seven are waiting at the Room of Requirement, we're going to practice. We went to the Room and started practicing

 **Thanks for 5000 views! I'm sorry I didn't upload the past few days. Something was wrong with my account and wouldn't let me upload anything, I just got an error message. I am very sorry, I just hope that you like this chapter. I added more suspicions all credit goes to a guest who reviewed. Anyways, I'll make it up to you. I'll try push out another chapter today. I have to introduce the villain sometime soon. It looks like it might be Ares, but the reviews and support mean a lot. I hope that you will forgive me and enjoy this chapter. Anyways, Read and Review.**

 **~RedGods**


	17. Hagrid Inspected

**Chapter 17: Frank**

The next few days passed quickly, Harry introduced to us, Hagrid, a half-giant who we were all apprehensive of. However, it turned out that he was quite harmless, nice even. We had gone down to his cabin every now and then and he told us very nice stories about what has happened the last few years. It was extremely entertaining. We were barely keeping up with the homework given all the DA sessions and our training sessions to try protect Harry. Umbridge was now inspecting most of Trelawnny's lessons. We were finally about to have our first Care of Magical Creatures lesson with Hagrid on Tuesday. We were walking down, all ten of us, down to Hagrid's hut, right on the edge of the forest. However, Hagrid was nowhere to be seen. We finally saw him on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, waving his arms to signal that he was there.

We ran over towards him instantly. We were worried that Umbridge would be here, but she was nowhere to be seen, it was very good for everyone. The snow made Hagrid stand out even further, however, it made the run over towards him hard.

'We're workin' in here today!' Hagrid called happily to the approaching students, jerking his head back at the dark trees behind him. 'Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark.'

'What prefers the dark?' I heard Malfoy say sharply to Crabbe and Goyle, a trace of panic in his voice. 'What did he say prefers the dark-did you hear?'

Malfoy before the Quidditch match was full of swagger and would bully and insult everyone. However, since then, he was timid, and none of his former swagger was shown. It seemed that he was also scared of going into the forest.

'Ready?' said Hagrid cheerfully, looking around at the class. 'Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year. Thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the on'y person in Britain who's managed ter train 'em.'

'And you're sure they're trained, are you?' said Malfoy, the panic in his voice even more pronounced. 'Only it wouldn't be the first time you'd brought wild stuff to class, would it?'

The Slytherins murmured agreement and a few from the other houses looked as though they thought Malfoy had a fair point, too.

'Course they're trained,' said Hagrid, scowling and hoisting the dead cow a little higher on his shoulder.

'So what happened to your face, then?' demanded Malfoy.

'Mind yer own business!' said Hagrid, angrily. 'Now, if yeh've finished askin' stupid questions, follow me!'

He turned and strode straight into the Forest. Nobody seemed much disposed to follow. I glanced at the rest of the demigods, who all shrugged. We ended up just walking right after Hagrid, into the forest.

We walked for about ten minutes until they reached a place where the trees stood so closely together that it was as dark as twilight and there was no snow at all on the ground. With a grunt, Hagrid deposited his half a cow on the ground, stepped back and turned to face his class, most of whom were creeping from tree to tree towards him, peering around nervously as though expecting to be set upon at any moment.

'Gather roun', gather roun',' Hagrid encouraged. 'Now, they'll be attracted by the smell 'o the meat but I'm going ter give em a call anyway, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me.'

He turned, shook his shaggy head to get the hair out of his face and gave an odd, shrieking cry that echoed through the dark trees like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed: most of them looked too scared to make a sound.

Hagrid gave the shrieking cry again. A minute passed in which the class continued to peer nervously over their shoulders and around trees for a first glimpse of whatever it was that was coming. And then, as Hagrid shook his hair back for a third lime and expanded his enormous chest, I stared at the gap between the two trees. I gasped, as a creature emerged from the gloom.

A pair of blank, white, shining eyes were growing larger through the gloom and a moment later the dragonish face, neck and then skeletal body of a great, black, winged horse emerged from the darkness. It surveyed the class for a few seconds, swishing its long black tail, then bowed its head and began to tear flesh from the dead cow with its pointed fangs.

Those creatures that were pulling the carriages for us to get to the castle emerged. All of us looked grim, thestrals I believed Percy called them. Harry was wearing a relieved expression on his face. However, all of us had looks of understanding and sadness, most of the rest of the class were wearing expressions as confused and nervously expectant as Ron's and were still gazing everywhere but at the horse standing feet from them. There were only two other people who seemed to be able to see them: a stringy Slytherin boy standing just behind Goyle was watching the horse eating with an expression of great distaste on his face; and Neville, whose eyes were following the swishing progress of the long black tail. I looked around and I saw a few more people look at the horse creature with revulsion.

'Oh, an' here comes another one!' said Hagrid proudly, as a second black horse appeared out of the dark trees, folded its leathery-wings closer to its body and dipped its head to gorge on the meat. 'Now ... put yer hands up, who can see 'em?'

All of the demigods, Harry, Neville and a few other people put their hands up.

"Knew that you'd be able to Harry. Neville too. Wa? Also all of these exchange students – "

'Excuse me,' said Malfoy in a sneering voice, 'but what exactly are we supposed to be seeing?'

For an answer, Hagrid pointed at the cow carcass on the ground. The whole class stared at it for a few seconds, then several people gasped and Parvati squealed. I understood why: bits of flesh stripping themselves away from the bones and vanishing into thin air had to look very odd indeed.

'What's doing it?' Parvati demanded in a terrified voice, retreating behind the nearest tree. 'What's eating it?'

'Thestrals,' said Hagrid proudly and Hermione gave a soft 'Oh!' of comprehension at Harry's shoulder. The demigods, already knew, glanced at everyone else.

'Hogwarts has got a whole herd of 'em in here. Now, who knows -?'

'But they're really, really unlucky!' interrupted Parvati, looking alarmed. 'They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune on people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once-'

'No, no, no,' said Hagrid, chuckling, 'tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an' useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages unless Dumbledore's takin' a long journey an' don' want ter Apparate-an' here's another couple, look-'

Two more horses came quietly out of the trees, one of them passing very close to Parvati, who shivered and pressed herself closer to the tree, saying, 'I think I felt something, I think it's near me!'

'Don' worry, it won' hurt yeh,' said Hagrid patiently. 'Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?'

Percy, Annabeth and Hermione's hands darted up.

"Uh… Alright then Percy."

"Thestrals are only able to be seen by people who have witnessed death, which gives them a bad reputation."

"Yeah! That's exactly right. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Hem, hem.'

Professor Umbridge had arrived. She was standing a few feet away from Harry, wearing her green hat and cloak again, her clipboard at the ready. Hagrid. who had never heard Umbridge's fake cough before, was gazing in some concern at the closest Thestral, evidently under the impression that it had made the sound.

'Hem, hem.'

'Oh, hello!' Hagrid said, smiling, having located the source of the noise.

'You received the note I sent to your cabin this morning?' said Umbridge, in the same loud, slow voice she had used with him earlier, as though she were addressing somebody both foreign and very slow. 'Telling you that I would be inspecting your lesson?'

'Oh, yeah,' said Hagrid brightly. 'Glad yeh found the place all righ'! Well, as you can see- or, I dunno-can you? We're doin' Thestrals today-'

'I'm sorry?' said Professor Umbridge loudly, cupping her hand around her ear and frowning. 'What did you say?'

Hagrid looked a little confused.

'Er-Thestrals!' he said loudly. 'Big-er-winged horses, yeh know!'

He flapped his gigantic arms hopefully. Professor Umbridge raised her eyebrows at him and muttered as she made a note on her clipboard: 'Has ... to ... resort ... to ... crude ... sign ... language.'

'Well ... anyway ...' said Hagrid, turning back to the class and looking slightly flustered, 'erm ... what was I sayin?'

'Appears ... to ... have ... poor ... short ... term ... memory,' muttered Umbridge, loudly enough for everyone to hear her. Draco Malfoy looked as though Christmas had come a month early; Hermione, on the other hand, had turned scarlet with suppressed rage.

'Oh, yeah,' said Hagrid, throwing an uneasy glance at Umbridge's clipboard, but ploughing on valiantly. 'Yeah, I was gonna tell yeh how come we got a herd. Yeah, so, we started off with a male an' five females. This one,' he patted the first horse to have appeared, 'name o' Tenebrus, he's my special favourite, firs' one born here in the Forest-'

'Are you aware,' Umbridge said loudly, interrupting him, 'that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as "dangerous"?'

My heart sank like a stone, but Hagrid merely chuckled.

'Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta yeh if yeh really annoy them -'

'Shows ... signs ... of... pleasure ... at ... idea ... of... violence,' muttered Umbridge, scribbling on her clipboard again.

'No-come on!' said Hagrid, looking a little anxious now. 'I mean, a dog'll bite if yeh bait it, won' it-but Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing-people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?'

Umbridge did not answer; she finished writing her last note, then looked up at Hagrid and said, again very loudly and slowly, 'Please continue teaching as usual. I am going to walk,' she mimed walking (Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were having silent fits of laughter) 'among the students' (she pointed around at individual members of the class) 'and ask them questions.' She pointed at her mouth to indicate talking.

Hagrid stared at her, clearly at a complete loss to understand why she was acting as though he did not understand normal English. Hermione had tears of fury in her eyes now.

'You hag, you evil hag!' she whispered, as Umbridge walked towards Pansy Parkinson. 'I know what you're doing, you awiul, twisted, vicious-'

'Erm ... anyway,' said Hagrid, clearly struggling to regain the flow of his lesson, 'so -Thestrals. Yeah. Well, there's loads o' good stuff abou' them ...'

'Do you find,' said Professor Umbridge in a ringing voice to Pansy Parkinson, 'that you are able to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?'

Just like Hermione, Pansy had tears in her eyes, but these were tears of laughter; indeed, her answer was almost incoherent because she was trying to suppress her giggles.

'No ... because ... well ... it sounds ... like grunting a lot of the time ...'

Umbridge scribbled on her clipboard. The few unbruised bits of Hagrid's face flushed, but he tried to act as though he had not heard Pansy's answer.

'Er ... yeah ... good stuff abou' Thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' sense o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go-'

'Assuming they can understand you, of course,' said Malfoy loudly, and Pansy Parkinson collapsed in a fit of renewed giggles. Professor Umbridge smiled indulgently at them and then turned to Neville.

'You can see the Thestrals, Longbottom, can you?' she said.

Neville nodded.

'Who did you see die?' she asked, her tone indifferent.

'My ... my grandad,' said Neville.

'And what do you think of them?' she said, waving her stubby hand at the horses, who by now had stripped a great deal of the carcass down to bone.

'Erm,' said Neville nervously, with a glance at Hagrid. 'Well, they're ... er ... OK ...'

'Students ... are ... too ... intimidated ... to ... admit ... they ... are ... frightened,' muttered Umbridge, making another note on her clipboard.

'No!' said Neville, looking upset. 'No, I'm not scared of them!'

'It's quite all right,' said Umbridge, patting Neville on the shoulder with what she evidently intended to be an understanding smile, though it looked more like a leer to Harry. 'Well, Hagrid,' she turned to look up at him again, speaking once more in that loud, slow voice, 'I think I've got enough to be getting along with. You will receive' (she mimed taking something from the air in front of her) 'the results of your inspection' (she pointed at the clipboard) 'in ten days' time.' She held up ten stubby little fingers, then, her smile wider and more toadlike than ever before beneath her green hat, she bustled from their midst, leaving Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson in fits of laughter, Hermione actually shaking with fury and Neville looking confused and upset.

'That foul, lying, twisting old gargoyle!' stormed Hermione half an hour later, as they made their way back up to the castle through the channels they had made earlier in the snow. 'You see what she's up to? It's her thing about half-breeds all over again-she's trying to make out Hagrid's some kind of dimwitted troll, just because he had a giantess for a mother-and oh, it's not fair, that really wasn't a bad lesson at all-I mean, all right, if it had been Blast-Ended Skrewts again, but Thestrals are fine-in fact, for Hagrid, they're really good!'

"What are Blast-Ended Skrewts?" Annabeth asked, mystified.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts are a creature that Hagrid bred, a cross between manticores and fire crabs. In short, they are creatures that can burn, sting and bite all at the same time, not fun." Harry said.

"Good thing we weren't here for that," Percy said, relieved, "The thestrals were really cool though."

'Umbridge said they're dangerous,' said Ron.

'Well, it's like Hagrid said, they can look after themselves,' said Hermione impatiently, 'and I suppose a teacher like Grubbly-Plank wouldn't usually show them to us before NEWT level, but, well, they are very interesting, aren't they? The way some people can see them and some can't! I wish I could.' All of our faces fell, but Harry broke the silence,

"Do you really?" Suddenly, Hermione looked horror-struck."

"Oh no Harry. I didn't mean to. And you seven, I'm very sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's okay, we forgive you," I said.

We walked back up to the castle, and buried ourselves in all the homework we had to do.

December finally arrived, bringing even colder weather and more and more snow, until it was completely coating Hogwarts. The mountain of homework we were getting made it almost unbearable. Hermione was moaning about how many elves she still needed to set free while Ron was complaining about putting up decorations. We were also improving with our swordplay and hand to hand combat. The DA meetings allowed us to become aces at wizard and demigod dueling. We would easily be able to fight against any threat. Ron had already invited Harry and us to come and stay with him over the summer. I was ecstatic as it was going to be really fun. Hermione was also spending a lot of time I the library, even more than usual, I was suspicious, but I just assumed it was to do with all the homework. Also, I kept having the same dreams as the rest of the seven, of a door that I couldn't explain ever seeing. Today was the final DA lesson just before the holidays.

'OK,' he said, calling them all to order. 'I thought this evening we should just go over the things we've done so far, because it's the last meeting before the holidays and there's no point starting anything new right before a three-week break-'

'We're not doing anything new?' said Zacharias Smith, in a disgruntled whisper loud enough to carry through the room. 'If I'd known that, I wouldn't have come.'

'We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then,' said Fred loudly.

Several people sniggered. Harry saw Cho laughing and he went red. It was painfully obvious that Harry liked her.

'-we can practise in pairs,' said Harry. 'We'll start with the Impediment Jinx, for ten minutes, then we can get out the cushions and try Stunning again.'

They all divided up obediently; Harry just walked about, sometimes joining pairs to help them. The room was soon full of intermittent cries of 'Impedimenta!' People froze for a minute or so, during which their partner would stare aimlessly around the room watching other pairs at work, then would unfreeze and take their turn at the jinx.

Neville had improved beyond all recognition. He was able to do jinxes and charms very easily, much more different to the kid who could barely disarm someone at the start. I was obviously partnered up with Hazel.

After ten minutes on the Impediment Jinx, we laid out cushions all over the floor and started practising Stunning again. Space was really too confined to allow us all to work this spell at once; half the group observed the others for a while, then swapped over. I was reasonably good at stunning, along with the rest of the seven. It was quite cool.

At the end of an hour, Harry called a halt.

'You're getting really good,' he said, beaming around at them. 'When we get back from the holidays we can start doing some of the big stuff-maybe even Patronuses.'

There was a murmur of excitement. The room began to clear in the usual twos and threes; most people wished Harry a 'Happy Christmas' as they went. The nine of us wanted to wait for Harry, but he waited for Cho and we all gave him an understanding look and walked out of the Room of Requirement. The demigods snuck out to the Forbidden Forest, braving the cold to practice, yet again. Once we returned, Harry, Ron and Hermione were up, sitting around the fire.

"—You kiss?— " Hermione asked. Percy, Jason and I walked in and she froze up. She relaxed and greeted us. We grinned and joined the conversation,

"Did you kiss Cho?" Percy asked. He solemnly nodded and we all burst into laughter. Once we composed ourselves,

"How was it?" Ron asked.

"Wet," Harry said truthfully. Ron assumed an expression of disgust or delight, I couldn't tell, Jason was stifling laughes and Percy looked the same. Hermione and I glanced at each other and looked away, to conceal our grins.

"Because she was crying."

"Oh. Are you that bad at kissing?" Jason asked.

"Dunno. Maybe I really am." Harry said, looking crestfallen.

'Of course you're not,' said Hermione absently, still scribbling away at her letter.

'How do you know?' said Ron very sharply.

'Because Cho spends half her time crying these days,' said Hermione vaguely. 'She does it at mealtimes, in the loos, all over the place.'

'You'd think a bit of kissing would cheer her up,' said Ron, grinning.

'Ron,' said Hermione in a dignified voice, dipping the point of her quill into her inkpot, 'you are the most insensitive wart I have ever had the misfortune to meet.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' said Ron indignantly. 'What sort of person cries while someone's kissing them?'

'Yeah,' said Harry, slightly desperately, 'who does?'

Hermione looked at the pair of them with an almost pitying expression on her face.

'Don't you understand how Cho's feeling at the moment?' she asked.

"No." Percy, Jason, Ron and Harry chorused. I didn't know what to say, so I just said,

"No." after them. Hermione laid down her quill and rolled her eyes,

"Well, obviously, she's feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she's feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can't work out who she likes best. Then she'll be feeling guilty, thinking it's an insult to Cedric's memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she'll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can't work out what her feelings towards Harry are, anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that's all very mixed up and painful. Oh, and she's afraid she's going to be thrown off the Ravenclaw Quidditch team because she's been flying so badly." This was greeted by a long silence. We all didn't know what to say. We immediately felt some sympathy for Cho. Ron broke the silence with an incredulous voice,

"One person can't feel all that. They'd explode."

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon." Jason, Percy and I exploded with renewed laughter. They continued their conversation, but I didn't hear a word because of that amazing line.

'Who're you writing the novel to, anyway?' Ron asked Hermione, trying to read the bit of parchment now trailing on the floor. Hermione hitched it up out of sight.

'Viktor.'

'Krum?'

'How many other Viktors do we know?'

Ron said nothing, but looked disgruntled. They sat in silence for another twenty minutes, Ron finishing his Transfiguration essay with many snorts of impatience and crossings-out, Hermione writing steadily to the very end of the parchment, rolling it up carefully and sealing it. Harry was staring into the fire, while Jason, Percy and I were just finishing our Charms homework. Suddenly, Hermione went up to bed, and the rest of us followed.

 **Thanks for the recent support. Two in one day for missing a few days. Anyways, next chapter will be Mr. Weasley's fate and the dream about Voldemort and a god. Ares is what it's looking like. Proper Poll is up on my profile I think. I'm still not sure how it works. Tomorrow, I will check who is the most voted, then use that god in the whole dream sequence. Hope you enjoy,**

 **~RedGods**


	18. Dreams and Holidays

**Thanks to a guest. I got a few votes from private guests giving me their two cents. I changed the god from Ares, if you messaged me, you know who you are. You gave me a brilliant idea, it will probably help a lot.**

 **Chapter 18: Harry**

I was absolutely exhausted. I stripped down into more comfortable clothes, and then collapsed onto my bed. I pulled my blanket over my body to help with the chill emanating from outside.I punched my pillow into a more comfortable shape and curled up, slowly drifting off to sleep. As I descended into sleep, I was greeted by many dreams. I had an incredibly odd dream, of me drowning Snape in my cauldron. It was quite enjoyable and I liked seeing Snape like that. I loathed him, and he loathed me.

I had another weird dream, I was back in the DA room and Cho was accusing me that I had promised her 150 Chocolate Frog Cards, but I had only got 100.

"Cedric got me tons of cards!" She shouted, throwing fistfuls of cards up into the air. She then went on ranting about how he could repay her, then she said something, "Aha! You can give me your Firebolt instead!" I was about to protest that I couldn't as my Firebolt was in Umbridge's office. Then my dream changed.

I was stood in the corner of a dimly lit room. Chairs were seated around a central table. The table itself was made of majestic mahogany. The chairs however, were empty, except for one at the head of a table. A wizard, clad in a black cloak with a snake treading carefully over his arms. He was crooning to it in Parseltongue.

" _Nagini. Nagini. Where is your dinner Nagini?"_ The man crooned. I knew that high-pitched cackle anywhere. Voldemort. My suspicions were confirmed as he pulled down his hood. Voldemort's slit-like eyes pierced the corner where I was hiding. He brandished his wand and stood up. Twirling his wand in his hand, scanning for danger. Voldemort laughed, and lifted his wand. I tried to run, to avoid his curse but just before, a black aura filled the room, and something entered. Something primordial, something powerful. Voldemort spun around.

"Show yourself. Who is there! I am Lord Voldemort! Reveal yourself!" he screamed. The same dark aura filled the room once again, and a woman emerged from the shadows. She was scary, but an eerie aura of beauty surrounded her. She had flowing dark hair, and was also clad in dark clothes. She looked very goth-like, having dark eyeshadow and dark purple lips. Black bracelets adorned her arms, and an amethyst necklace was around her neck. She radiated an aura of power and I cowered further back into a corner. She spoke, and her voice was daint, but tinged with almost, humor. But the humor was shown in a way that was presented as maliciousness.

"I am Eris. I am the goddess of strife and discord. I have a proposition for you, Voldemort." She said. Voldemort's eyes burned with hatred.

"Why should I trust a puny person like you?" he asked. The fire behind Eris' eyes turned up a notch.

"I am a god, puny mortal. You do not want me as an enemy. As for why you could trust me, I can give you information about Hogwarts, and why you can never attack Harry Potter there." This peaked Voldemort's interest. He slowly nodded and replied,

"Go on, Goddess… Why can I never attack Harry Potter at Hogwarts?"

"Beware Tom. All information comes with a price. Are you ready to pay such a price?"

"Yes. I have all the gold I could want. I can satisfy any price." Eris smirked, as if she knew something else, but continued.

"Seven powerful people have joined Hogwarts. Their names are Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, and Leo Valdez. They are demigods, who have faced and destroyed countless beings. They are extremely powerful Greek demigods. With them at Hogwarts, Harry Potter will never be yours." My mind melted. What? Greek demigods? What the? This was way too weird. I would never understand any of this.

"So you claim that the Greek gods exist? I believe you. I sense an aura of power about you. I myself have evaded Hades. He has tortured me with many dreams. But still I evade him. I know the Greek Gods exist. What will I have to do to kill these… demigods?"

"I cannot help you there. There are ancient laws, that I must abide by. I will only give you advice. There are Greek Monsters that exist. The only way to kill these demigods, will be to rally Greek monsters, and use them to kill the demigods. You yourself will find it impossible to kill them. You must rally these greek monsters to your side. That is the only way to kill them, and then Harry Potter will be yours." Voldemort nodded and their conversation turned to whispers. I didn't catch anything else, but my mind was spinning, what? This must be fake.

"Beware Tom Riddle. This information will not come cheap." With that, she melted into the shadows, her eyes flickering around the room, and settling onto my corner.

"Harry Potter will fall this year." Voldemort said. Suddenly, my dream morphed.

My body felt smooth, powerful and flexible. I was gliding between shining metal bars, across dark, cold stone ... I was flat against the floor, sliding along on my belly ... it was dark, yet I could see objects around me, shimmering in strange, vibrant colours ... I was turning my head ... at first glance the corridor was empty ... but no ... a man was sitting on the floor ahead, his chin drooping on to his chest, his outline gleaming in the dark ...

I put out my tongue ... I tasted the man's scent on the air ... he was alive but drowsy ... sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor ..

I longed to bite the man ... but I must master the impulse ... I had more important work to do ...

But the man was stirring ... a silver Cloak fell from his legs as he jumped to his feet; and I saw his vibrant, blurred outline towering above him, saw a wand withdrawn from a belt ... I had no choice ... I reared high from the floor and struck once, twice, three times, plunging my fangs deeply into the man's flesh, feeling his ribs splinter beneath his jaws, feeling the warm gush of blood ...

The man was yelling in pain ... then he fell silent ... he slumped backwards against the wall ... blood was splattering on to the floor ...

 **Percy:**

Wow. Eris had just visited Voldemort and he now knew our identities. This was extremely bad. Voldemort knew that there were demigods at Hogwarts. He was surely able to endanger the entire school, just to draw us out. Then, my dream shifted. I was seeing a large, unbelievably large snake slithering towards a man. I could trace the snake's voice.

I put out my tongue ... I tasted the man's scent on the air ... he was alive but drowsy ... sitting in front of a door at the end of the corridor ..

"I longed to bite the man ... but I must master the impulse ... I had more important work to do ..."

This snake was clearly creeping me out. I wanted to cry out, warn the man that the snake was attempting to kill. But, my voice didn't work. I was devastated. The man turned around and I recognized his face. It was Mr. Weasley, Ron's dad, who was extremely nice to me, and invited us to his house. Mr. Weasley turned around and the snake struck. His fangs sinking into his chest. Once, twice, three times, the snake struck at Mr. Weasley's chest, blood pouring out. The blood began pooling around his lifeless body and I was woken up suddenly. Jason, Frank and Harry both woke up at the same time as me. Ron was screaming at Harry to wake up. I instantly knew that they all had the same dream as me, we sprung out of bed, and we all ran out of the Gryffindor Common Room, ushered by McGonagall. Harry was bombarded with questions, and McGonagall didn't ask us any, knowing that we were demigods, this would happen to us often, so she resorted to questioning Harry. If Harry had the same dream about us being demigods, he clearly didn't show it.

'It's Ron's dad,' he said, sitting up again. 'He's been attacked by a snake and it's serious, I saw it happen.'

'What do you mean, you saw it happen?' said Professor McGonagall, her dark eyebrows contracting.

'I don't know ... I was asleep and then I was there ...'

'You mean you dreamed this?'

'No!' said Harry angrily 'I was having a dream at first about something completely different, something stupid ... and then this interrupted it. It was real, I didn't imagine it. Mr. Weasley was asleep on the floor and he was attacked by a gigantic snake, there was a load of blood, he collapsed, someone's got to find out where he is ...'

Professor McGonagall was gazing at him through her lopsided spectacles as though horrified at what she was seeing.

'I'm not lying and I'm not mad!' Harry told her, his voice rising to a shout. 'I tell you, I saw it happen!'

'I believe you, Potter,' said Professor McGonagall curtly. 'Put on your dressing gown-we're going to see the Headmaster.'

"Weasley, Jackson, Grace, Zhang. You better come too." After that, we raced to the headmaster's office, and we said the password ( _Fizzing Whizbee)_ and the gargoyle sprang to life; and jumped aside, revealing the staircase that lead to the headmaster Though it was now well past midnight there were voices coming from inside the room, a positive babble of them. It sounded as though Dumbledore was entertaining at least a dozen people.

Professor McGonagall rapped three times with the griffin knocker and the voices ceased abruptly as though someone had switched them all off. The door opened of its own accord and Professor McGonagall led the five of us inside.

"—Professor, it was -" Annabeth said. The rest of the demigods, were alreay there. An expression of relief spread across their faces. A silent conversation passed through us.

" _Did you have the same dream?"_

" _Yes."_

"Potter, tell the headmaster about it." McGonagall said, clearly nervous that all of us had the same dream.

'I ... well, I was asleep ...' said Harry and, even in his terror and his desperation to make Dumbledore understand, he felt slightly irritated that the Headmaster was not looking at him, but examining his own interlocked fingers. 'But it wasn't an ordinary dream ... it was real ... I saw it happen ...' He took a deep breath, 'Ron's dad-Mr. Weasley-has been attacked by a giant snake.'

The words seemed to reverberate in the air after he had said them, sounding slightly ridiculous, even comic. There was a pause in which Dumbledore leaned back and stared meditatively at the ceiling. Ron looked from Harry to Dumbledore, white-faced and shocked.

'How did you see this?' Dumbledore asked quietly, still not looking at Harry.

'Well ... I don't know,' said Harry, rather angrily-what did it matter? 'Inside my head, I suppose-'

'You misunderstand me,' said Dumbledore, still in the same calm tone. 'I mean ... can you remember-er-where you were positioned as you watched this attack happen? Were you perhaps standing beside the victim, or else looking down on the scene from above?'

I was the snake,' he said. 'I saw it all from the snake's point of view.'

We all looked stunned by this revelation, all of us, I assumed had seen it from the point of view of a bystander, looking upon the scene from the side. But Harry, Harry had seen it from the snake's Point of View. Did that mean what I thought it meant?

Nobody else spoke for a moment, then Dumbledore, now looking at Ron who was still whey-faced, asked in a new and sharper voice, 'Is Arthur seriously injured?' Harry nodded,

But Dumbledore stood up, so quickly it made Harry jump, and addressed one of the old portraits hanging very near the ceiling. 'Everard?' he said sharply. 'And you too, Dilys!'

A sallow-faced wizard with a short black fringe and an elderly witch with long silver ringlets in the frame beside him, both of whom seemed to have been in the deepest of sleeps, opened their eyes immediately.

'You were listening?' said Dumbledore.

The wizard nodded; the witch said, 'Naturally.'

'The man has red hair and glasses,' said Dumbledore. 'Everard, you will need to raise the alarm, make sure he is found by the right people-'

Both nodded and moved sideways out of their frames, but instead of emerging in neighbouring pictures (as usually happened at Hogwarts) neither reappeared. One frames now contained nothing but a backdrop of dark curtain, the other a handsome leather armchair. We were then teleported to Grimmauld Place, where the rest of the Weasley's soon followed, their faces pale and void of colour. They were obviously shocked that something like this would happen to their dad. We all soon nodded off. Sick with worry about Mr. Weasley. We soon went to St. Mungo's to visit Mr. Weasley, and we were told that he would make a full recovery.

Harry had remained distant from us, possibly due to the fact that the Order assumed that he was being possessed by Lord Voldemort. Encouraged, due to the fact that Mr. Weasley would make a full recovery, everyone seemed much more cheerful over the duration of the holidays. However, the only dampening was just that the seven of us, and even Harry I presumed were constantly plagued with nightmares of Voldemort recruiting monsters. We continually spied on Harry, to make sure he didn't do anything off the books. I just turned the corner when I heard Mrs. Weasley's voice.

'Professor Snape, dear. In the kitchen. He'd like a word.'

Harry's mouth fell open in horror. He looked around at Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all of whom were gaping back at him. Crookshanks, whom Hermione had been restraining with difficulty for the past quarter of an hour, leapt gleefully on to the board and set the pieces running for cover, squealing at the top of their voices.

'Snape?' said Harry blankly.

'Professor Snape, dear,' said Mrs. Weasley reprovingly. 'Now come on, quickly, he says he can't stay long.'

'What's he want with you?' said Ron, looking unnerved as Mrs. Weasley withdrew from the room. 'You haven't done anything, have you?'

'No!' said Harry indignantly, racking his brains to think what he could have done that would make Snape pursue him to Grimmauld Place. Had his last piece of homework perhaps earned a 'T'?

A minute or two later, he pushed open the kitchen door to find Sirius and Snape both seated at the long kitchen table, glaring in opposite directions. The silence between them was heavy with mutual dislike. A letter lay open on the table in front of Sirius.

'Er,' said Harry, to announce his presence.

Snape looked around at him, his face framed between curtains of greasy black hair.

'Sit down, Potter.'

'You know,' said Sirius loudly, leaning back on his rear chair legs and speaking to the ceiling, 'I think I'd prefer it if you didn't give orders here, Snape. It's my house, you see.'

An ugly flush suffused Snape's pallid face. Harry sat down in a chair beside Sirius, facing Snape across the table.

'I was supposed to see you alone, Potter,' said Snape, the familiar sneer curling his mouth, 'but Black-'

'I'm his godfather,' said Sirius, louder than ever.

'I am here on Dumbledore's orders.' said Snape, whose voice, by contrast, was becoming more and more quietly waspish, 'but by all means stay, Black, I know you like to feel ... involved.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' said Sirius, letting his chair fall back on to all four legs with a loud bang.

'Merely that I am sure you must feel-ah-frustrated by the fact that you can do nothing useful,' Snape laid a delicate stress on the word, 'for the Order.'

It was Sirius's turn to flush. Snape's lip curled in triumph as he turned to Harry.

'The Headmaster has sent me to tell you, Potter, that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term.'

'Study what?' said Harry blankly.

Snape's sneer became more pronounced.

'Occlumency, Potter. The magical defence of the mind against external penetration. An obscure branch of magic, but a highly useful one.'

Harry's heart began to pump very fast indeed. Defence against external penetration? But he was not being possessed, they had all agreed on that ...

'Why do I have to study Occlu-thing?' he blurted out.

'Because the Headmaster thinks it a good idea,' said Snape smoothly. 'You will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anybody what you are doing, least of all Dolores Umbridge. You understand?'

'Yes,' said Harry. 'Who's going to be teaching me?'

Snape raised an eyebrow.

'I am,' he said.

Harry had the horrible sensation that his insides were melting.

Extra lessons with Snape-what on earth had he done to deserve this? He looked quickly round at Sirius for support.

'Why can't Dumbledore teach Harry?' asked Sirius aggressively. 'Why you?'

'I suppose because it is a headmaster's privilege to delegate less enjoyable tasks,' said Snape silkily. 'I assure you I did not beg for the job.' He got to his feet. 'I will expect you at six o'clock on Monday evening, Potter. My office. If anybody asks, you are taking remedial Potions. Nobody who has seen you in my classes could deny you need them.'

He turned to leave, his black travelling cloak billowing behind him.

'Wait a moment,' said Sirius, sitting up straighter in his chair.

Snape turned back to face them, sneering.

'I am in rather a hurry, Black. Unlike you, I do not have unlimited leisure time.'

'I'll get to the point, then,' said Sirius, standing up. He was rather taller than Snape who, Harry noticed, balled his fist in the pocket of his cloak over what Harry was sure was the handle of his wand. 'If I hear you're using these Occlumency lessons to give Harry a hard time, you'll have me to answer to.'

'How touching,' Snape sneered. 'But surely you have noticed that Potter is very like his father?'

'Yes, I have,' said Sirius proudly.

'Well then, you'll know he's so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off him,' Snape said sleekly.

Sirius pushed his chair roughly aside and strode around the table towards Snape, pulling out his wand as he went. Snape whipped out his own. They were squaring up to each other, Sirius looking livid, Snape calculating, his eyes darting from Sirius's wand-tip to his face.

'Sirius!' said Harry loudly, but Sirius appeared not to hear him.

'I've warned you, Snivelus,' said Sirius, his face barely a foot from Snape's, 'I don't care if Dumbledore thinks you've reformed, I know better-'

'Oh, but why don't you tell him so?' whispered Snape. 'Or are you afraid he might not take very seriously the advice of a man who has been hiding inside his mother's house for six months?'

'Tell me, how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he's delighted his lapdog's working at Hogwarts, isn't he?'

'Speaking of dogs,' said Snape softly, 'did you know that Lucius Malfoy recognised you last time you risked a little jaunt outside? Clever idea, Black, getting yourself seen on a safe station platform ... gave you a cast-iron excuse not to leave your hidey-hole in future, didn't it?'

Sirius raised his wand.

'NO!' Harry yelled, vaulting over the table and trying to get in between them. 'Sirius, don't!'

'Are you calling me a coward?' roared Sirius, trying to push Harry out of the way, but Harry would not budge.

'Why, yes, I suppose I am,' said Snape.

'Harry-get- out-of-it!' snarled Sirius, pushing him aside with his free hand.

 **(This segment is word for word from the book. I didn't really feel like editing it all out.)**

Thankfully, my eavesdropping session was cut short when the entire occupants of the house surged into the kitchen, breaking up the fight.

"CURED COMPLETELY CURED!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. Everyone beamed, congratulating the Weasley's who looked so extremely happy. The rest of the holidays passed in a blur. We were soon returning to Hogwarts, and we slipped back into the usual rhythm of the day, but I was always paranoid. When would Voldemort make his move.

 **Finally. The true story begins. I can finally be a bit more creative, and don't worry. I have a good plan for this. Thanks for the support. We're closing in on 7K views and I want to see some feedback on this chapter. I spent a while on it. Hope you enjoy it. I also touched on the Occlumency part.**

 **~RedGods**


	19. Revelations

**Hermione:**

I spent a majority of the holidays researching greek mythology. I knew something was wrong with these wizards. I was fairly sure they weren't Death Eaters, but I knew there was something odd about them. They seemed more comfortable with a sword than a wand, but their magical talents were also amazing. There was no explanation to this predicament. One of the only real sketchy thing that I heard just before the holidays, was them intimidating Draco Malfoy. They kept saying that their fathers were more powerful than his would ever be. This confused me. They already said that their parents were dead. The dilemma reminded me of a demigod's. Their parents were supposedly dead, but were really gods and were alive. But demigods would never be the answer to this problem. I would still have to keep looking. I spent hours everyday, combing through every known greek myth and story, trying to find some more connections. But after days of study, the only connection I could find was that they shared similar qualities of ancient demigods.

The only conclusion I would come to would be that they were demigods. But the prospect of that was ridiculous. I was struggling to find out what their secret was. However, we were back at school, and with our OWLs drawing nearer, the teachers gave us mountains of homework and revision, even I was sometimes struggling to keep up. The Americans, Harry and Ron were also struggling, barely keeping up. Harry had his Occlumency lessons, but for some inexplicable reason, the Americans didn't even though they had the exact same dream as him. I wondered what was up with that.

Yesterday, something weird happened with Harry. He said that his scar started hurting like mad, and described the feeling that Voldemort experienced, as happy. Today, we found out what it was. I walked down to the Great Hall with Harry and Ron, while the Americans were conversing in hushed tones behind us. The post arrived on schedule and I unfurled my Daily Prophet to see if anything interesting was there, perhaps even a clue as to why Voldemort was so happy yesterday. I looked on the front page and stifled a yelp.

"Oh my god! Everyone, you need to see this." I said. All nine of them peered over my shoulder and their faces paled.

Ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, nine showing wizards' faces and the tenth, a witch's. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures, looking insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.

Antonin Dolohov, read the legend beneath a wizard with a long, pale, twisted face who was sneering up at me, convicted of the brutal murders of Gideon and Fabian Prewett. I could see the rest of them sweeping the paper, their faces and eyes full of surprise, and fear.

Algernon Rookwood, said the caption beneath a pockmarked man with greasy hair who was leaning against the edge of his picture, looking bored, convicted of leaking Ministry of Magic secrets to He Who Must Not Be Named.

But almost everyone's eyes were drawn to the picture of the witch. Her face had leapt out at him the moment he had seen the page. She had long, dark hair that looked unkempt and straggly in the picture, though he had seen it sleek, thick and shining. She glared up at him through heavily lidded eyes, an arrogant, disdainful smile playing around her thin mouth. Like Sirius, she retained vestiges of great good looks, but something-perhaps Azkaban-had taken most of her beauty.

Bellatrix Lestrange, convicted of the torture and permanent incapacitation of Frank and Alice Longbottom.

I nudged Harry and pointed at the headline over the pictures, which Harry, concentrating on Bellatrix, had not yet read.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS 'RALLYING POINT'

FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

'Black?' said Harry loudly. 'Not-?'

'Shhh!' I desperately. 'Not so loud-just read it!'

The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban.

Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister for Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.

'We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped,'said Fudge last night.'Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are, however, doing all we can to round up the criminals, and we beg the magical community to remain alert and cautious. On no account should any of these individuals be approached.'

'There you are, Harry,' said Ron, looking awestruck. 'That's why he was happy last night.'

'I don't believe this,' snarled Harry, 'Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius?'

'What other options does he have?' I said bitterly. 'He can hardly say, "Sorry, everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort"-stop whimpering,Ron-"and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out, too." I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?'

The Americans were talking about this in a foreign language. I had looked up some of the words and I thought that it was a mix between Greek and Latin. I couldn't really understand what they were saying, as I obviously didn't understand either of those languages. I instead, devoted my attention to reading the remainder of the newspaper, however, my mind kept darting back to the Azkaban breakout.

I glanced up at the staff table. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were deep in conversation, both looking extremely grave. Professor Sprout had the Prophet propped against a bottle of ketchup and was reading the front page with such concentration that she was not noticing the gentle drip of egg yolk falling into her lap from her stationary spoon. Meanwhile, at the far end of the table, Professor Umbridge was tucking into a bowl of porridge. For once her pouchy toad's eyes were not sweeping the Great Hall looking for misbehaving students. She scowled as she gulped down her food and every now and then she shot a malevolent glance up the table to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking so intently.

After a week, the atmosphere around the school was jittery and there was an aura of fear. It was almost the same as when Sirius Black escaped, everyone had obviously found out about the mass breakout from Azkaban. I also had a something planned out for Harry, to make the whole world realise the truth about Voldemort, and how he was actually back. I had just received confirmation about it yesterday, and since today was a Hogsmeade visit, we were going to meet Rita Skeeter, and she would do the rest. I walked down to the Great Hall. Everyone was sitting at the Gryffindor Table again. I walked up and pulled Harry away from them.

"Listen Harry. You need to be in the Three Broomsticks at noon. Please be there," I urged.

"I dunno. Cho might be expecting me to spend the whole day with her.

"Well, bring her along if you must. Just make sure you are there Harry." I said

"Um. I mean, sure. But why do I need to be there?"

"I'll explain later." I said, taking a seat next to Leo and Ron. I gulped down my breakfast and got ready for Hogsmeade. Soon, too soon, I was lining up right in front of the great Oak Doors. Harry ran off to find Cho. Percy and Annabeth were cuddling and talking to each other. Jason and Piper were doing the same. Leo was talking with Ron, while Frank and Hazel were standing awkwardly next to me. Finally, Filch let us out into Hogsmeade.

 **Annabeth:**

It was Valentine's Day and I was going into Hogsmeade with Percy! We were going to have so much fun on Valentine's Day, being the first one since I had got him back. We split up from the rest, clearly wanting to do our own thing. We wandered around Hogsmeade, arm in arm just enjoying each other's presence, warming each other from the bitter winter cold. We wandered into the Three Broomsticks, wanting to just talk about many things, and just be sorta lovey-dovey, for the first real time this year. Percy and I had a butterbeer, which warmed us up to the brim. We started talking about classes, and I was extremely surprised that he was actually paying attention in a few classes.

Last lesson Hagrid had shown us Pegasi, and Percy had got everything right, and began striking up a conversation with the pegasi. It was extremely funny, seeing as Umbridge, who loathed us was also surprised that Percy got any answers right. After having a butterbeer, we walked up to Honeydukes. We feasted on a wide assortment of wizarding sweets, that made my tongue tingle. It was a blissful experience. After spending about an hour tasting and buying everything that we deemed interesting, we hiked to the Shrieking Shack, which was supposedly haunted.

"Percy, do you really believe this is haunted?" I asked.

"Annabeth, we're literally in a school for magic. Also, we are literally demigods. There are ghosts in Hogwarts, it's probably haunted." Percy said. I was actually stunned how reasonable he was being.

"Still. I'm not going anywhere near that thing." I said, shivering. What was weird, was that there were three elderly woman staring at the shack. We stood next to them admiring them.

"Em, is this them?" The one on the far left said.

"Yes, Stheno! Keep a low profile," the one in the middle said. At this, Percy's eyes narrowed. Their voices sounded hoarse and raspy. I was suspicious, but I continued to stay silent

"Are you sure?" The one closed to us said.

"Shut Up and look inconspicuous Euryale." The far one said. One she said this name, Percy drew his sword. Riptide sprung into existence, and I followed his example. I drew my knife from the bead on my necklace.

"Oh, it's Em, Beano, and Euryale **(I have no idea what Euryale's nickname is.)** I thought that you lot would stay dead for a bit longer. I already killed you gorgons!" Percy snarled.

"Perseus Jackson. We aren't here to fight you, or your little girlfriend. We simply deliver a message from our new master," Medusa growled.

"He only wishes for you to surrender. Go back to America, and abandon this quest to protect Harry Potter. He will call off the assault, and leave Hogwarts alone. Simply surrender, and you will avoid much bloodshed."

At this, Percy looked conflicted. I knew what he was thinking. _How can I simply surrender and let Voldemort kill my friend?_ But the other side of him would be thinking like, _if I walk away, hundreds, maybe thousands of lives will be saved, but Harry may die._ I saw the conflict in his eyes. I held onto his shoulder, which seemed to strengthen his resolve. I started to formulate a plan to kill the three gorgons. Medusa was the most dangerous, but thankfully she was the closest one to us, as they started changing positions. Then, we could distract Stheno, and kill Euryale, then proceed to Stheno. I nodded to Percy and he understood.

"Tell Voldemort, that I will never abandon this school. I will stay here and protect it!" The three gorgons sighed, as if they had been expecting this.

"Sorry Jackson. But that was the wrong answer. Now we have to kill you!" Medusa murmured. Percy leapt into action, he brought Riptide down in an arc, and before Medusa could move, Percy sliced her head clean off. The other Gorgons howled and came at us. Percy melted the ice around us, and summoned a huge wave to knock them off their feet. They both stumbled and Percy and I ran at Euryale. Stheno however, sank her long talons into my shoulder and I yelped out in pain. I spun around and jabbed at her with my knife, but she quickly backed up. I risked a glance over my shoulder, and saw Percy turning the water around Euryale's feet to ice, constantly giving him the advantage. However, Euryale kept slicing the air, keeping Percy on his toes as well. I slipped into a rhythm while fighting Stheno. Stab, dodge, roll, slice, stab, dodge, roll, slice. However her snakes in her hair occasionally tried to snap at my arm when I got a bit too close, thus sometimes disrupting me. Percy had summoned a ball of water to encase Euryale, and finally looked to be winning. He brought Riptide down in an almighty arc and impaled Euryale, who murmured something and dissolved into dust. Percy ran over to me immediately, and the two of us overpowered Stheno.

"Beano, tell your master, that no means no. I will not abandon this school, and I won't abandon my friends." He then thrust his sword through her chest. Right after that, he collapsed, I didn't realise that Percy had a multiple bad cuts on his shoulder, until he collapsed into my arms.

"Oh Percy, I've got some ambrosia here somewhere," I murmured softly, fishing around my pockets for the pack of ambrosia that I always kept, for emergencies. I stuffed the godly food down his throat and he wolfed it down. Colour returned to his face and relief spread across mine.

"Seaweed Brain, don't you dare scare me like that again," I scolded, Percy nodded weakly and we stood up, hiking back up to the main part of Hogsmeade.

 **Harry:**

Talking about my experience with Voldemort, was not good. Especially with Rita Skeeter, whom I heartily disliked.Luna had said that my interview would appear in the next issue of the Quibbler. I couldn't wait.

 **FLASH FORWARD TO WHEN THE ARTICLE IS OUT.**

I woke up in my dorm, and I was the last one up. I threw on my day robes and strolled leisurely down to the Great Hall. I was in a good mood but I didn't know why. I just had a happy gut feeling, that was inexplicable. I walked over and sat down at the Gryffindor Table, just as the post was coming. Turns out that about half the post owls came and dropped off packages in front of me. Almost everyone around me was mystified,

'What's going on?' Frank asked in amazement, as the whole of Gryffindor table leaned forwards to watch and another seven owls landed amongst the first ones, screeching, hooting and flapping their wings.

'Harry!' said Hermione breathlessly, plunging her hands into the feathery mass and pulling out a screech owl bearing a long, cylindrical package. 'I think I know what this means-open this one first!'

I ripped off the brown packaging. Out rolled a tightly furled copy of the March edition of The Quibbler. I unrolled it to see my own face grinning sheepishly at me from the front cover. In large red letters across this picture were the words:

 **HARRY POTTER SPEAKS OUT AT LAST:**

 **THE TRUTH ABOUT HE WHO MUST NOT BE NAMED**

 **AND THE NIGHT I SAW HIM RETURN**

'It's good, isn't it?' said Luna, who had drifted over to the Gryffindor table and now squeezed herself on to the bench between Leo and Ron. 'It came out yesterday, I asked Dad to send you a free copy. I expect all these,' she waved a hand at the assembled owls still scrabbling around on the table in front of us, 'are letters from readers.'

'That's what I thought,' said Hermione eagerly. 'Harry, d'you mind if we-?'

'Help yourself,' I said, feeling slightly bemused.

The Americans, Ron and Hermione started ripping open letters.

This one's from a bloke who thinks you're off your rocker,' said Percy, glancing down his letter. 'Ah well ...'

'This woman recommends you try a good course of Shock Spells at St. Mungo's,' said Hermione, looking disappointed and crumpling up a second.

'This one looks OK, though,' said Hazel slowly scanning a long letter from a witch in Paisley. 'Hey she says she believes you!'

'This one's in two minds,' said Jason, who had joined in the letter-opening with enthusiasm. 'Says you don't come across as a mad person, but he really doesn't want to believe You-Know-Who's back so he doesn't know what to think now. Blimey, what a waste of parchment.'

'Here's another one you've convinced, Harry!' said Piper excitedly. 'Having read your side of the story, I am forced to the conclusion that the Daily Prophet has treated you very unfairly ... little though I want to think that He Who Must Not Be Named has returned, I am forced to accept that you are telling the truth ...Oh, this is wonderful!'

'Another one who thinks you're barking,' said Ron, throwing a crumpled letter over his shoulder '... but this one says you've got her converted and she now thinks you're a real hero-she's put in a photograph, too-wow!'

'What is going on here?' said a falsely sweet, girlish voice.

I looked up with my hands full of envelopes. Professor Umbridge was standing behind Piper and Hazel, her bulging toad's eyes scanning the mess of owls and letters on the table in front of us all. Behind her he saw many of the students watching them avidly.

'Why have you got all these letters, Mr. Potter?' she asked slowly.

'Is that a crime now?' said Percy, loudly. 'Getting mail?'

'Be careful, Mr Jackson or I shall have to put you in detention,' said Umbridge. 'Well, Mr Potter?'

'People have written to me because I gave an interview,' I said. 'About what happened to me last June.'

For some reason he glanced up at the staff table as he said this. I had the strangest feeling that Dumbledore had been watching me a second before, but when I looked towards the Headmaster he seemed to be absorbed in conversation with Professor Flitwick.

'An interview?' repeated Umbridge, her voice thinner and higher than ever. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean a reporter asked me questions and I answered them,' I said. 'Here-'

And I threw the copy of The Quibbler to her. She caught it and stared down at the cover. Her pale, doughy face turned an ugly, patchy violet.

'When did you do this?' she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

'Last Hogsmeade weekend,' I said.

She looked up at him, incandescent with rage, the magazine shaking in her stubby fingers.

'There will be no more Hogsmeade trips for you, Mr. Potter,' she whispered. 'How you dare ... how you could ...' She took a deep breath. 'I have tried again and again to teach you not to tell lies. The message, apparently, has still not sunk in. Fifty points from Gryffindor and another week's worth of detentions.'

She stalked away, clutching The Quibbler to her chest, the eyes of many students following her.

By mid-morning enormous signs had been put up all over the school, not just on house noticeboards, but in the corridors and classrooms too.

 **BY ORDER OF THE HIGH INQUISITOR OF HOGWARTS**

 **Any student found in possession of the magazine**

 **The Quibbler will be expelled.**

 **The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-seven.**

 **Signed: Dolores Jane Umbridge, High Inquisitor**

For some reason, every time Hermione caught sight of one of these signs she beamed with pleasure.

'What exactly are you so happy about?' I asked her.

'Oh, Harry, don't you see?' Hermione breathed. 'If she could have done one thing to make absolutely sure that every single person in this school will read your interview, it was banning it!'

"By the end of the day, I had not seen one Quibbler around the whole school, but had heard multiple quotes all around the school, as if they all knew it by heart. Around the school, I was treated very well, perhaps it was caused by people randomly coming up and saying they believed me, just before they left, wringing my hand and stalking off. Or maybe the fact that there was a party in the Gryffindor Common Room. Or maybe the fact that Cho had come up to me, teary-eyed and apologized. However, it was just a relief to get away from all that attention. I crawled into bed and went to sleep. My scar prickling slightly.

 **Harry (Third Person)**

He was standing in a dark, curtained room lit by a single branch of candles. His hands were clenched on the back of a chair in front of him. They were long-fingered and white as though they had not seen sunlight for years and looked like large, pale spiders agairst the dark velvet of the chair. 

Beyond the chair, in a pool of light cast upon the floor by the candles, knelt a man in black robes.

'I have been badly advised, it seems,' said Harry, in a high, cold voice that pulsed with anger.

'Master, I crave your pardon,' croaked the man kneeling on the floor. The back of his head glimmered in the candlelight. He seemed to be trembling.

'I do not blame you, Rookwood,' said Harry in that cold, cruel voice.

He relinquished his grip on the chair and walked around it, closer to the man cowering on the floor, until he stood directly over him in the darkness, looking down from a far greater height than usual.

'You are sure of your facts, Rookwood?' asked Harry.

'Yes, My Lord, yes ... I used to work in the Department aftet-after all ...'

'Avery told me Bode would be able to remove it.'

'Bode could never have taken it, Master ... Bode would have known he could not ... undoubtedly, that is why he fought so hard against Malfoy's Imperius Curse ...'

'Stand up, Rookwood,' whispered Harry.

The kneeling man almost fell over in his haste to obey. His face was pockmarked; the scars were thrown into relief by the candlelight. He remained a little stooped when standing, as though halfway through a bow, and he darted terrified looks up at Harry's face.

'You have done well to tell me this,' said Harry. 'Very well ... I have wasted months on fruitless schemes, it seems ... but no matter ... we begin again, from now. You have Lord Voldemort's gratitude, Rookwood ...'

'My Lord ... yes, My Lord,' gasped Rookwood, his voice hoarse with relief.

'I shall need your help. I shall need all the information you can give me.'

'Of course, My Lord, of course ... anything ...'

'Very well ... you may go. Send Avery to me.'

Rookwood scurried backwards, bowing, and disappeared through a door.

Left alone in the dark room, Harry turned towards the wall. A cracked, age-spotted mirror hung on the wall in the shadows. Harry moved towards it. His reflection grew larger and clearer in the darkness ... a face whiter than a skull ... red eyes with slits for pupils ...

'NOOOOOOOOO!'

'What?' yelled a voice nearby.

Harry Hailed around madly, became entangled in the hangings and fell out of his bed. For a few seconds he did not know where he was; he was convinced he was about to see the white, skull-like lace looming at him out of the dark again, then very near to him Ron's voice spoke.

'Will you stop acting like a maniac so I can get you out of here!'

Ron wrenched the hangings apart and Harry stared up at him in the moonlight, flat on his back, his scar searing with pain. Ron looked as though he had just been getting ready for bed; one arm was out of his robes.

'Has someone been attacked again?' asked Ron, pulling Harry roughly to his feet. 'Is it Dad? Is it that snake?'

'No-everyone's fine-' gasped Harry, whose forehead felt as though it were on fire. 'Well ... Avery isn't ... he's in trouble ... he gave him the wrong information ... Voldemort's really angry ...'

Harry groaned and sank, shaking, on to his bed, rubbing his scar.

'But Rookwood's going to help him now ... he's on the right track again ...'

'What are you talking about?' said Ron, sounding scared. 'D'you mean ... did you just see You-Know-Who?'

'I was You-Know-Who,' said Harry, and he stretched out his hands in the darkness and held them up to his face, to check that they were no longer deathly white and long-fingered. 'He was with Rookwood, he's one of the Death Eaters who escaped from Azkaban, remember? Rookwood's just told him Bode couldn't have done it.'

Little did Harry know that the demigods had the exact same dream, and more.

 **The plot thickens. Harry will continue seeing into Voldemort's mind, and soon, they will all find out about the seven's true identities. Hope you like the chapter. I will definitely appreciate a review, means a lot to me. We passed 7.5K Views, absolutely magnificent. I can't believe this. Anyways, this chapter had a lot of Harry Potter in it, sorry if the PJO characters weren't featured that much in this chapter. Hope that you all enjoy it.**

 **~RedGods**


	20. Discovered

**Sorry. I am sorry that I didn't upload the past few days. Truth be told, I just wasn't that interested in writing for a few days. I needed a break. I will try make this chapter the best I can.**

 **Chapter 20: Hazel**

The next few weeks were uninteresting, unless you count all seven of us, and we suspected Harry, were all having the exact same dreams. Apparently, the scene where we learnt about Rookwood and Voldemort, was shared by Harry. I knew that those events actually happened, but the question was, what was their significance? Anyways, with our OWLS drawing nearer, we were still giving mountains of homework and revision. While Ron and Jason had Quidditch Practice, Harry had those Occlumency lessons.

Many times, at breakfast, the day after an Occlumency lesson, he would complain about how Occlumency didn't help at all. How it made his mind feel more exposed, as opposed to feeling more protected. Today however, something tragic, but quite unsurprising. The Seven and Hermione were just walking around the Hogwarts grounds, enjoying the nice weather. We came back in, until a shrill screech echoed throughout the courtyard. We hurried to see what happened, only to see a sobbing Professor Trelawny. I knew what was happening. It was quite expected, but it still was sad to see our Divination teacher reduced to this.

"Did you really think otherwise?" A high-pitched girlish voice simpered. I saw Umbridge, smiling nastily at Trelawny, while she mumbled incomprehensible words under her breath. "Your failure to demonstrate your ability to predict the future, and your inability to improve, wouldn't it be obvious that you would be sacked?"

"You ca-can't do this! Hogwarts, Hogwarts is my home!" Trelawny shouted.

"It was your home. Now, you are no longer welcome," Umbridge said, grinning, obviously pleased with herself for bringing this all about.

Lavender and Parvati were both crying quietly, their arms round each other. Then I heard footsteps. Professor McGonagall had broken away from the spectators, marched straight up to Professor Trelawney and was patting her firmly on the back while withdrawing a large handkerchief from within her robes.

"There, there, Sybill ... calm down ... blow your nose on this ... it's not as bad as you think, now ... you are not going to have to leave Hogwarts ..."

"Oh really, Professor McGonagall?' said Umbridge in a deadly voice, taking a few steps forward. "And your authority for that statement is ... ?"

"That would be mine," said a deep voice.

The oaken front doors had swung open. Students beside them scuttled out of the way as Dumbledore appeared in the entrance. Dumbledore looked as impressive as ever. However, what surprised me, was the friendly twinkle that was always present in his eyes, had suddenly disappeared. It appeared to be replaced by anger and … well, I didn't know what else. Clearly he wasn't feeling courteous towards Umbridge at that time. He strode forwards, the crowd parting before him, towards Trelawney, tear-stained and trembling, on her trunk, Professor McGonagall alongside her.

"Really Professor Dumbledore?" She asked, exasperated. "I thought I made it quite clear to you, that under Educational Degree Number Twenty-Three, I certainly do have the power to sack, or dismiss a particular teacher from a teaching position, or have you forgotten?" To my surprise, Dumbledore's smile returned, and he smartly answered back.

"That much is true, but you do not have the authority to banish them from the grounds. That power still remains with the Headmaster"

"Oh is that so? Well, what happens when I manage to appoint a new Divination Teacher. The teacher will obviously need her lodgings."

"That won't matter, as I have already found a replacement," Dumbledore boomed, the twinkle slowly returning for good. Smiling he gestured to the doors at the front of the school, through which he had entered. "This is Firenze, I would assume that he would be suitable," A brilliant white bodied stallion erupted through the front doors. With white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes; the head and torso of a man joined to the palomino body of a horse, he looked vastly different from the other centaurs that I had seen. Dumbledore announced, chuckling softly at the look of disbelief etched onto Umbridge's face, we knew that she hated Half-Breeds.

Firenze's lessons were very erratic. He would start on one topic and then keep changing his mind on what different things meant. Until he usually came to the conclusion that what we were seeing may take many years to interpret. In my opinion, Divination was very imprecise, unlike Rachel, our Oracle and Camp Half-Blood.

Our DA Lessons were still going strong, until today. We were working on Patronuses. We had all managed to produce a Patronus. Percy's was a Horse, Annabeth's was an Owl, mine was a Dove, Jason's was an Eagle, Hazel's was a Screech Owl, there were noticeable differences between Annabeth's and Hazels. Frank's was a boar, and Leo's was a Donkey, which we made fun of him for. All of a sudden, Dobby came into the Room of Requirement. Obviously, we were all mystified, and laid down our wands. Harry initiated conversations. Annabeth, seemed to be calculating what was happening.

'Hi, Dobby!' he said. 'What are you-What's wrong?'

The elf's eyes were wide with terror and he was shaking. The members of the DA closest to Harry had fallen silent; everybody in the room was watching Dobby. The few Patronuses people had managed to conjure faded away into silver mist, leaving the room looking much darker than before.

'Harry Potter, sir ...' squeaked the elf, trembling from head to foot, 'Harry Potter, sir ... Dobby has come to warn you ... but the house-elves have been warned not to tell ...'

He ran head-first at the wall. Harry, made to seize him, but Dobby merely bounced off the stone, cushioned by his eight hats. I, and a few of the other girls let out squeaks of fear and sympathy.

'What's happened, Dobby?' Harry asked, grabbing the elf's tiny arm and holding him away from anything with which he might seek to hurt himself.

'Harry Potter ... she ... she ...'

Dobby hit himself hard on the nose with his free fist. Harry seized that, too.

'Who's "she", Dobby?'

But realization dawned on Annabeth's face. Harry and Frank also seemed to read Dobby's fear and realise what he was warning us about?

'Umbridge?' asked Annabeth, horrified.

Dobby nodded, then tried to bang his head on Harry's knees. Harry held him at arm's length.

'What about her? Dobby-she hasn't found out about this-about us-about the DA?'

He read the answer in the elf's stricken face. His hands held fast by Harry, the elf tried to kick himself and fell to the floor.

'Is she coming?' Harry asked quietly.

Dobby let out a howl, and began beating his bare feet hard on the floor.

'Yes, Harry Potter, yes!'

Harry straightened up and looked around at the motionless, terrified people gazing at the thrashing elf.

'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?' Harry bellowed. 'RUN!'

I ran for the door. The Seven of us legged it towards the exit. We formed a crowd at the exit, but we managed to force ourselves forwards.

Harry scooped up Dobby, who was still attempting to do himself serious injury, and ran with the elf in his arms to join the back of the queue.

'Dobby-this is an order-get back down to the kitchen with the other elves and, if she asks you whether you warned me, lie and say no!' said Harry. 'And I forbid you to hurt yourself!' he added, dropping the elf as he made it over the threshold at last and slammed the door behind him.

'Thank you, Harry Potter!' squeaked Dobby, and he streaked off. We glanced left and right, the others were all moving so fast he caught only glimpses of flying heels at either end of the corridor before they vanished; Jason and Percy took off to the right, running far further than us. I was running alongside Frank, as Annabeth and the rest took off at top speed. They turned the corner, while Frank and I were quite far behind them. Suddenly, both of us tripped up as rope-like objects ensnared our legs. I cried out in pain as my knee hit the ground hard, jarring it. I was about to turn around and see who tripped us up, but he spoke before.

"Ooooo… Lots of trouble makers. It's two of the Americans!" A drawling voice called. I turned around and saw the sleek blond head of Malfoy.

"PROFESSOR I'VE GOT TWO!" Malfoy shouted. Umbridge scuttled around the corner, and a look of incredulous delight spread over her toad-like face.

"Fifty Points to Slytherin Draco. Just nip about and see if you can find more of them. I'll take these lot from here. Malfoy nodded, and ran down the corridor that everyone else escaped through. We arrived at the Gargoyle outside Dumbledore's study after a long speech about misbehaving students. When we entered, the room was full of people, many I had never seen before.

Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk, his expression serene, the tips of his long fingers together. Professor McGonagall stood rigidly beside him, her face extremely tense. A wide man, with a small bowler's hat over his was rocking backwards and forwards on his toes beside the fire, apparently immensely pleased with the situation; Kingsley Shacklebolt and a tough-looking wizard with very short wiry hair whom I did not recognise, were positioned either side of the door like guards, and the freckled, bespectacled form of a Weasley hovered excitedly beside the wall, a quill and a heavy scroll of parchment in his hands, apparently poised to take notes. I assumed this was Percy and the man with the bowler's hat was Fudge, Minister for Magic. I also saw Harry in the corner, looking grim, flanked by Malfoy. However, the attention was not on us, it was on Harry.

'He was heading back to Gryffindor Tower,' said Umbridge. There was an indecent excitement in her voice, the same callous pleasure I had heard as she watched Professor Trelawney dissolving with misery in the Entrance Hall. 'The Malfoy boy cornered him.'

'Did he, did he?' said Fudge appreciatively. 'I must remember to tell Lucius. Well, Potter ... I expect you know why you are here?'

Harry changed direction mid-word.

'Ye-no.'

'I beg your pardon?' said Fudge.

'No,' said Harry, firmly.

'You don't know why you are here?'

'No, I don't,' said Harry.

Fudge looked incredulously from Harry to Professor Umbridge. He then proceeded to glare at us, before quickly returning his attention to Harry.

'So you have no idea,' said Fudge, in a voice positively sagging with sarcasm, 'why Professor Umbridge has brought you to this office? You are not aware that you have broken any school rules?'

'School rules?' said Harry. 'No.'

'Or Ministry Decrees?' amended Fudge angrily.

'Not that I'm aware of,' said Harry blandly.

'So, it's news to you, is it,' said Fudge, his voice now thick with anger, 'that an illegal student organisation has been discovered within this school?'

'Yes, it is,' said Harry, hoisting an unconvincing look of innocent surprise on to his face.

'I think, Minister,' said Umbridge silkily from beside him, 'we might make better progress if I fetch our informant.'

'Yes, yes, do,' said Fudge, nodding, and he glanced maliciously at Dumbledore as Umbridge left the room. 'There's nothing like a good witness, is there, Dumbledore?'

'Nothing at all, Cornelius,' said Dumbledore gravely, inclining his head.

Umbridge strode past us, completely ignoring us to open the door. Several minutes past where Fudge interviewed us and we echoed Harry's responses and feigned ignorance as to what had happened. Soon Cho's friend, Marietta came through the door, sobbing, with her face in her hands.

'Don't be scared, dear, don't be frightened,' said Professor Umbridge softly, patting her on the back, 'it's quite all right, now. You have done the right thing. The Minister is very pleased with you. He'll be telling your mother what a good girl you've been. Marietta's mother, Minister,' she added, looking up at Fudge, 'is Madam Edgecombe from the Department of Magical Transportation, Floo Network office- she's been helping us police the Hogwart's fires, you know.'

'Jolly good, jolly good!' said Fudge heartily. 'Like mother, like daughter, eh? Well, come on, now, dear, look up, don't be shy, let's hear what you've got to-galloping gargoyles!'

As Marietta raised her head, Fudge leapt backwards in shock, nearly landing himself in the fire. He cursed, and stamped on the hem of his cloak which had started to smoke. Marietta gave a wail and pulled the neck of her robes right up to her eyes, but not before everyone had seen that her face was horribly disfigured by a series of close-set purple pustules that had spread across her nose and cheeks to form the word 'SNEAK'.

'Never mind the spots now, dear,' said Umbridge impatiently, 'just take your robes away from your mouth and tell the Minister-'

But Marietta gave another muffled wail and shook her head frantically. I suddenly knew the jinx that Hermione had put on the parchment, and I learnt to never get onto Hermione's bad side.

'Oh, very well, you silly girl, I'll tell him,' snapped Umbridge. She hitched her sickly smile back on to her face and said, 'Well, Minister, Miss Edgecombe here came to my office shortly after dinner this evening and told me she had something she wanted to tell me. She said that if I proceeded to a secret room on the seventh floor, sometimes known as the Room of Requirement, I would find out something to my advantage. I questioned her a little further and she admitted that there was to be some kind of meeting there. Unfortunately, at that point this hex,' she waved impatiently at Marietta's concealed face, 'came into operation and upon catching sight of her face in my mirror the girl became too distressed to tell me any more.'

'Well, now,' said Fudge, fixing Marietta with what he evidently imagined was a kind and fatherly look, 'it is very brave of you, my dear, coming to tell Professor Umbridge. You did exactly the right thing. Now, will you tell me what happened at this meeting? What was its purpose? Who was there?'

But Marietta would not speak; she merely shook her head again, her eyes wide and fearful.

'Haven't we got a counter-jinx for this?' Fudge asked Umbridge impatiently, gesturing at Marietta's face. 'So she can speak freely?'

'I have not yet managed to find one,' Umbridge admitted grudgingly, and Harry felt a surge of pride in Hermione's jinxing ability 'But it doesn't matter if she won't speak, I can take up the story from here.

'You will remember, Minister, that I sent you a report back in October that Potter had met a number of fellow students in the Hog's Head in Hogsmeade-'

'And what is your evidence for that?' cut in Professor McGonagall.

'I have testimony from Willy Widdershins, Minerva, who happened to be in the bar at the time. He was heavily bandaged, it is true, but his hearing was quite unimpaired,' said Umbridge smugly. 'He heard every word Potter said and hastened straight to the school to report to me-'

'Oh, so that's why he wasn't prosecuted for setting up all those regurgitating toilets!' said Professor McGonagall, raising her eyebrows. 'What an interesting insight into our justice system!'

'Blatant corruption!' roared the portrait of the corpulent, red-nosed wizard on the wall behind Dumbledore's desk. 'The Ministry did not cut deals with petty criminals in my day, no sir, they did not!'

'Thank you, Fortescue, that will do,' said Dumbledore softly.

'The purpose of Potter's meeting with these students,' continued Professor Umbridge, 'was to persuade them to join an illegal society, whose aim was to learn spells and curses the Ministry has decided are inappropriate for school-age-'

'I think you'll find you're wrong there, Dolores,' said Dumbledore quietly, peering at her over the half-moon spectacles perched halfway down his crooked nose.

'Oho!' said Fudge, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet again. 'Yes, do let's hear the latest cock-and-bull story designed to pull Potter out of trouble! Go on, then, Dumbledore, go on-'

'Willy Widdershins was lying, was he? Or was it Potter's identical twin in the Hog's Head that day? Or is there the usual simple explanation involving a reversal of time, a dead man coming back to life and a couple of invisible dementors?'

Percy Weasley let out a hearty laugh.

'Oh, very good, Minister, very good!'

'Cornelius, I do not deny-and nor, I am sure, does Harry—or anyone else, for that matter that he was in the Hog's Head that day, nor that he was trying to recruit students to a Defence Against the Dark Arts group. I am merely pointing out that Dolores is quite wrong to suggest that such a group was, at that time, illegal. If you remember, the Ministry Decree banning all student societies was not put into effect until two days after Harry's Hogsmeade meeting, so he was not breaking any rules at all in the Hog's Head.'

Percy looked as though he had been struck in the face by something very heavy. Fudge remained motionless in mid-bounce, his mouth hanging open.

Umbridge recovered first.

'That's all very fine, Headmaster,' she said, smiling sweetly, 'but we are now nearly six months on from the introduction of Educational Decree Number Twenty-four. If the first meeting was not illegal, all those that have happened since most certainly are.'

'Well,' said Dumbledore, surveying her with polite interest over the top of his interlocked fingers, 'they certainly would be, if they had continued after the Decree came into effect. Do you have any evidence that any such meetings continued?'

As if by impulse, while everyone's attention was on Dumbledore, I pulled my hands up, and began to manipulate the mist. I knew that it would take a lot of energy, but I used all of my willpower and plunged into the depths of Marietta's mind. With a great deal of energy, I managed to pluck out the memories of the past six months worth of DA Lessons. However, I felt as if an iron was pressed against my sternum. After extracting these memories I promptly collapsed. The thud attracted everyone's attention, but I ruefully smiled.

'Sorry, I tripped on the carpet.' Umbridge shook her head, and continued on her path.

'Evidence?' repeated Umbridge, with that horrible wide toad-like smile. 'Have you not been listening, Dumbledore? Why do you think Miss Edgecombe is here?'

'Oh, can she tell us about six months' worth of meetings?' said Dumbledore, raising his eyebrows. 'I was under the impression that she was merely reporting a meeting tonight.'

'Miss Edgecombe,' said Umbridge at once, 'tell us how long these meetings have been going on, dear. You can simply nod or shake your head, I'm sure that won't make the spots worse. Have they been happening regularly over the last six months?'

I thought this was the end, unless my mist warping abilities worked, which I was not sure of. Marietta shook her head, causing Umbridge's smile to morph to a frown. However, my smile grew, and I knew that I had successfully manipulated the Mist on such a precise level to do this.

'Miss Edgecombe, did you understand me? My question was whether these meetings have continued over the past six months?"

However, again, Marietta shook her head.

'What do you mean by shaking your head, dear?' said Umbridge in a testy voice.

'I would have thought her meaning was quite clear,' said Professor McGonagall harshly, 'there have been no secret meetings for the past six months. Is that correct, Miss Edgecombe?'

Marietta nodded.

'But there was a meeting tonight!' said Umbridge furiously. 'There was a meeting, Miss Edgecombe, you told me about it, in the Room of Requirement! And Potter was the leader, was he not, Potter organised it, Potter-why are you shaking your head, girl?'

'Well, usually when a person shakes their head,' said McGonagall coldly, 'they mean "no". So unless Miss Edgecombe is using a form of sign-language as yet unknown to humans-'

Professor Umbridge seized Marietta, pulled her round to face her and began shaking her very hard. A split second later Dumbledore was on his feet, his wand raised; Kingsley started forwards and Umbridge leapt back from Marietta, waving her hands in the air as though they had been burned.

'I cannot allow you to manhandle my students, Dolores,' said Dumbledore and, for the first time, he looked angry. Umbridge released her, and Fudge started to talk again.

'Dolores,' said Fudge, with the air of trying to settle something once and for all, 'the meeting tonight-the one we know definitely happened-'

'Yes,' said Umbridge, pulling herself together, 'yes ... well, Miss Edgecombe tipped me off and I proceeded at once to the seventh floor, accompanied by certain trustworthy students, so as to catch those in the meeting red-handed. It appears that they were forewarned of my arrival, however, because when we reached the seventh floor they were running in every direction. It does not matter, however. I have all their names here, Miss Parkinson ran into the Room of Requirement for me to see if they had left anything behind. We needed evidence and the room provided.'

I drew audible breath as they pulled out the list with all of our names on it. I tried to use the mist, to cover up the names, but I was too tired. I couldn't do it and collapsed again, using the tripped excuse once again.

'The moment I saw Potter's name on the list, I knew what we were dealing with,' she said softly.

'Excellent,' said Fudge, a smile spreading across his face, 'excellent, Dolores. And ... by thunder ...'

He looked up at Dumbledore, who was still standing beside Marietta, his wand held loosely in his hand.

'See what they've named themselves?' said Fudge quietly. 'Dumbledore's Army.'

Dumbledore reached out and took the piece of parchment from Fudge. He gazed at the heading scribbled by Hermione months before and for a moment seemed unable to speak. Then he looked up, smiling.

'Well, the game is up,' he said simply. 'Would you like a written confession from me, Cornelius -or will a statement before these witnesses suffice?'

I saw McGonagall and Kingsley look at each other. There was fear in both faces. I did not understand what was going on, and nor, apparently, did Fudge.

'Statement?' said Fudge slowly. 'What-I don't-?'

'Dumbledore's Army, Cornelius,' said Dumbledore, still smiling as he waved the list of names before Fudge's face. 'Not Potter's Army. Dumbledore's Army.'

'But-but-'

Understanding blazed suddenly in Fudge's face. He took a horrified step backwards, yelped, and jumped out of the fire again.

'You?' he whispered, stamping again on his smouldering cloak.

'That's right,' said Dumbledore pleasantly.

'You organised this?'

'I did,' said Dumbledore.

'You recruited these students for-for your army?'

'Tonight was supposed to be the first meeting,' said Dumbledore, nodding. 'Merely to see whether they would be interested in joining me. I see now that it was a mistake to invite Miss Edgecombe, of course.'

Marietta nodded. Fudge looked from her to Dumbledore, his chest swelling.

'Then you have been plotting against me!' he yelled.

'That's right,' said Dumbledore cheerfully.

'NO!' I shouted

Kingsley flashed a look of warning at me, McGonagall widened her eyes threateningly, but it had suddenly dawned on me what Dumbledore was about to do, and he could not let it happen.

'No-Professor Dumbledore-!'

'Be quiet, Hazel, or I am afraid you will have to leave my office,' said Dumbledore calmly.

'Yes, shut up, Levesque!' barked Fudge, who was still ogling Dumbledore with a kind of horrified delight. 'Well, well, well-I came here tonight expecting to expel Potter and instead-'

'Instead you get to arrest me,' said Dumbledore, smiling. 'It's like losing a Knut and finding a Galleon, isn't it?'

'Weasley!' cried Fudge, now positively quivering with delight, 'Weasley, have you written it all down, everything he's said, his confession, have you got it?'

'Yes, sir, I think so, sir!' said Percy eagerly, whose nose was splattered with ink from the speed of his note-taking.

'The bit about how he's been trying to build up an army against the Ministry, how he's been working to destabilise me?'

'Yes, sir, I've got it, yes!' said Percy, scanning his notes joyfully.

'Very well, then,' said Fudge, now radiant with glee, 'duplicate your notes, Weasley, and send a copy to the Daily Prophet at once. If we send a fast owl we should make the morning edition!' Percy dashed from the room, slamming the door behind him, and Fudge turned back to Dumbledore. 'You will now be escorted back to the Ministry, where you will be formally charged, then sent to Azkaban to await trial!'

'Ah,' said Dumbledore gently, 'yes. Yes, I thought we might hit that little snag.'

'Snag?' said Fudge, his voice still vibrating with joy. 'I see no snag, Dumbledore!'

Well,' said Dumbledore apologetically, 'I'm afraid I do.'

'Oh, really?'

Well-it's just that you seem to be labouring under the delusion that I am going to-what is the phrase?-come quietly.I am afraid I am not going to come quietly at all, Cornelius. I have absolutely no intention of being sent to Azkaban. I could break out, of course-but what a waste of time, and frankly, I can think of a whole host of things I would rather be doing.'

Umbridge's face was growing steadily redder; she looked as though she was being filled with boiling water. Fudge stared at Dumbledore with a very silly expression on his face, as though he had just been stunned by a sudden blow and could not quite believe it had happened. He made a small choking noise, then looked round at Kingsley and the man with short grey hair, who alone of everyone in the room had remained entirely silent so far. The latter gave Fudge a reassuring nod and moved forwards a little, away from the wall. Harry saw his hand drift, almost casually, towards his pocket.

'Don't be silly, Dawlish,' said Dumbledore kindly. 'I'm sure you are an excellent Auror-I seem to remember that you achieved "Outstanding" in all your NEWTs-but if you attempt to-er-bring me in by force, I will have to hurt you.'

The man called Dawlish blinked rather foolishly. He looked towards Fudge again, but this time seemed to be hoping for a clue as to what to do next.

'So,' sneered Fudge, recovering himself, 'you intend to take on Dawlish, Shacklebolt, Dolores and myself single-handed, do you, Dumbledore?'

'Merlin's beard, no,' said Dumbledore, smiling, 'not unless you are foolish enough to force me to.'

'He will not be single-handed!' said Professor McGonagall loudly, plunging her hand inside her robes.

'Oh yes he will, Minerva!' said Dumbledore sharply. 'Hogwarts needs you!'

'Enough of this rubbish!' said Fudge, pulling out his own wand. 'Dawlish! Shacklebolt! Take him!'

Suddenly, a flash of gold erupted around the room, and I did the only sensible thing. I hit the deck. Frank followed my example and so did the teachers. Harry, however, didn't catch on, neither did Marietta. McGonagall grabbed them both, and shunted them towards the ground. A gunshot-like sound exploded throughout the room.

When the dust cleared, Dumbledore beckoned us forward and addressed us.

"Listen, you two," he said, indicating Frank and I, "aid Harry and the others, if my sources are right, the attack is coming soon." I froze up, and so did Frank, Harry had a puzzled expression, but understanding, as if he knew what he was talking about. He then turned to address Harry. "Harry, listen. Study Occlumency as hard as you can. Close your mind at night to prevent the bad dreams. Listen to Professor Snape and do whatever he says. You will soon understand—"

Dawlish and Umbridge were beginning to stir…

"Close your mind!" He said. Before turning around and marching to Fawkes, the brilliant phoenix spread his wings, and Dumbledore latched onto his magnificent tail feathers. Red light flashed around the room, and suddenly everyone was shaken out of their stupor.

'Where is he?' yelled Fudge, pushing himself up from the floor. 'Where is he?'

'I don't know!' shouted Kingsley, also leaping to his feet.

'Well, he can't have Disapparated!' cried Umbridge. 'You can't do it from inside this school- '

'The stairs!' cried Dawlish, and he flung himself upon the door, wrenched it open and disappeared, followed closely by Kingsley and Umbridge. Fudge hesitated, then got slowly to his feet, brushing dust from his front. There was a long and painful silence.

'Well, Minerva,' said Fudge nastily, straightening his torn shirtsleeve, 'I'm afraid this is the end of your friend Dumbledore.'

'You think so, do you?' said Professor McGonagall scornfully.

Fudge seemed not to hear her. He was looking around at the wrecked office. A few of the portraits hissed at him; one or two even made rude hand gestures.

'You'd better get those four off to bed,' said Fudge, looking back at Professor McGonagall with a dismissive nod towards us. We marched out of the office. Frank and Harry went off towards the Gryffindor common room. However, Frank ran back and gave me a kiss, before heading off.

 **Finally. It took me ages to do this. Chapter 21 coming out tomorrow. Don't hate me, I tried my best. Hope you enjoy, Review. Also, we hit 10K Views!**

 **~RedGods**


	21. Mischief and Mayhem

**Chapter 21: Jason**

"My Lord! The attack is almost ready. We are almost done gathering all the forces. The only problem is raising, the uhh… monsters from Tartarus," A dracanae said. This dream was getting progressively worse. First, I saw battallions of monsters, all warming up to invade Hogwarts. Voldemort, I presumed was in a hooded cloak.

"Good. When I manage to secure the attention of the Potter boy, the attack may begin… DEMIGODS! BEWARE!" He shouted, thrusting his wand upwards as jets of pure energy were ejected from the tip into the sky.

I woke up, drenched in cold sweat. The only thing that was stopping them invading was Voldemort's determination to lure Harry aware, and they said about raising a monster from Tartarus. What would it be? A Titan? A Giant? A beast unlike anything we had faced before? I resigned to thinking. I tossed and turned until I fell back, into a dreamless sleep. When I woke up, I learnt that Dumbledore had left the school, and Umbridge was now the Headmaster. This was sure to spell disaster. With Dumbledore gone, the Weasley Twins went all out. It was absolute mayhem in the corridors. Dungbombs being dropped everywhere. There was nothing to be done. The teachers, seemed to enjoy this and watching Umbridge suffer seemed to motivate them, and the students to rebel.

Then there was the incident of the Weasley's fire-cracker experiment. They set loose so many firecrackers throughout the school. In my opinion it was hilarious, and everyone in the school was cracking up at watching Umbridge suffer with trying to get rid of them. All of the lessons were interrupted with crackers randomly sparking about the room, and the lessons were no longer orderly, but hilarious, due to all the mischief being caused.

Yesterday, however, something odd happened. Harry had a sudden urge to talk to Sirius. I confronted him about the problem and he says that he wanted to inquire about his father's behavior in school. I nodded, but we couldn't figure out a way to figure a way to talk to Sirius. When we asked Hermione and Annabeth, they both had the same answer

"Sorry Harry, but how do you expect to talk to Sirius with Umbridge policing all the fires and reading all our letters, there's nothing you can do," they both said, however, Fred and George came through.

"The fire in Umbridge's office is the only one that isn't being monitored by the Ministry, we'll create a distraction," Fred said, before George cutting him off,

"Harry can slip in, talk to Sirius, get out and no one will notice," George finished.

"Assuming that we get to Umbridge's office unnoticed, how will Harry get in?" Annabeth asked

"Sirius' knife." Harry said. We all looked towards him, as none of knew what he was on about. "Sirius gave me a knife that will open any lock. So even if she's bewitched it to not be affected by _Alohamora_ I will still be able to get in," Harry said. Most of us nodded, and thought this seemed to be foolproof. However, Hermione kept insisting that Harry shouldn't go through with it. All throughout the day, she nagged Harry, and therefore, nagged us with responses like…

"Harry please don't do it. Harry you'll be in such dreadful trouble. Oh Harry, what if Umbridge finds out. Eventually, Frank told her to be quiet, as he was doing the Transfiguration work. She actually shut her mouth, and stopped nagging Harry. Finally, once the day was over, the Weasley twins headed off to Gregory the Smarmy, telling us they had a surprise, while we flanked them, from a distance, to avoid suspicion. Harry went off towards Umbridge's Office.

In a few minutes, we passed the portrait and George passed a small object into my hand.

"Jason, just throw that there." I approached and was about to throw it just next to me feet, but Fred stopped me.

"Jason, you'll want to be far away, so stand back where Hazel and Frank are, and lob it as hard as you can." I nodded and stepped back. I then threw it as far as I could. I even summoned the winds a bit, to carry it further. When the object hit the gound, a large marsh or swamp came into existance. I turned to Fred and George, who were smiling at their handiwork.

"How did you make something like that guys?" Leo asked.

"A magician never reveals his secrets, but Leo, since you invent stuff sometimes too, you can throw this as well.. George and I also have one each. The three of them stepped back, and threw them simultaneously. The four swamp orbs, instead of creating four swamps, created one massive swamp that almost spanned the entire corridor. Then, we ran, except for the Weasley's who stayed to increase Umbridge's suffering. We had guaranteed Harry twenty minutes. Soon enough, we heard Umbridge's scream echo throughout the school, which guaranteed her removal from her room, and Harry entry. We waited outside, but Filch burst in, clutching a piece of paper and kissing it, murmuring something about whipping. I thought Harry would be discovered, but Filch ran outside without giving us a second look. Harry emerged shortly after, shedding the invisibility cloak, and looking very happy.

"How did your talk with Sirius go?" Percy asked.

"Brilliant, thanks guys." Harry replied. We all smiled and gestured for him to walk with us. We were only walking for a while, before long, we heard loud noises coming from the courtyard and we went to see what the commotion was.

It was just like the night when Trelawney had been sacked. Students were standing all around the walls in a great ring, teachers and ghosts were also in the crowd. Prominent among the onlookers were members of the Inquisitorial Squad, who were all looking exceptionally pleased with themselves, and Peeves, who was bobbing overhead, gazed down at Fred and George who stood in the middle of the floor with the unmistakeable look of two people who had just been cornered.

'So!' said Umbridge triumphantly. Who I realised was standing just a few stairs in front of him, once more looking down upon her prey. 'So-you think it amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp, do you?'

'Pretty amusing, yeah,' said Fred, looking up at her without the slightest sign of fear.

Filch elbowed his way closer to Umbridge, almost crying with happiness.

'I've got the form, Headmistress,' he said hoarsely, waving the piece of parchment I had just seen him take from her desk. 'I've got the form and I've got the whips waiting ... oh, let me do it now ...'

'Very good, Argus,' she said. 'You two,' she went on, gazing down at Fred and George, 'are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school.'

'You know what?' said Fred. 'I don't think we are.'

He turned to his twin.

'George,' said Fred, 'I think we've outgrown full-time education.'

'Yeah, I've been feeling that way myself,' said George lightly.

'Time to test our talents in the real world, d'you reckon?' asked Fred.

'Definitely,' said George.

And before Umbridge could say a word, they raised their wands and said together:

'Accio brooms!'

I heard a loud crash somewhere in the distance. Looking to my left, I ducked just in time. Fred and George's broomsticks, one still trailing the heavy chain and iron peg with which Umbridge had fastened them to the wall, were hurtling along the corridor towards their owners; they turned left, streaked down the stairs and stopped sharply in front of the twins, the chain clattering loudly on the flagged stone floor.

'We won't be seeing you,' Fred told Professor Umbridge, swinging his leg over his broomstick.

'Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch,' said George, mounting his own.

Fred looked around at the assembled students, at the silent, watchful crowd.

'It anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley-Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes,' he said in a loud voice. 'Our new premises!'

'Special discounts to Hogwart's students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat,' added George, pointing at Professor Umbridge.

'STOP THEM!' shrieked Umbridge, but it was too late. As the Inquisitorial Squad closed in, Fred and George kicked off from the floor, shooting fifteen feet into the air, the iron peg swinging dangerously below. Fred looked across the hall at the poltergeist bobbing on his level above the crowd.

'Give her hell from us, Peeves.'

And Peeves, who I had never seen take an order from a student before, swept his belled hat from his head and sprang to a salute as Fred and George wheeled about to tumultuous applause from the students below and sped out of the open front doors into the glorious sunset.

 **Shorter Chapter this time. Two in one day, hope you enjoy. Make sure to tell me your opinion on whether I what I should make the 'monster' that they are rising from tartarus to be. I'm thinking either a Titan, not Kronos. Or Maybe a Giant, even though they were destroyed at the end of BoO. Let me know what you think, your opinions are probably better than mine.**

 **~RedGods**


	22. Meetings

**Chapter 22: Leo**

After Fred and George's magnificent escape from Umbridge's clutches, this left a vacuum which was filled by many people competing to become 'troublemaker in chief' The Hogwarts corridors had become even more dangerous, and it was absolute mayhem. Dungbombs and Stink Pellets were dropped so often, that common practice to perform a bubble-head charm over our heads, to ensure us a fresh supply of air. I was one of those ones competing. I had sometimes created some joke items with Fred and George, but I improved them. Now, I had the ability to induce vertigo to people in a specific area. I had a bug that I could attach to people, or drop a small object that did it in a wide area. I would constantly attach it to Filch and members of the Inquisitorial Squad. Filch, while prowling the corridors with a whip in his hands, he never seemed to be able to catch anyone, due to the vast amount of people now trying to cause trouble.

The worrying thing was that all of us however, was the constant dreams we were getting about a large army attacking Hogwarts soon. Voldemort said that he didn't want any wizards to be there, so he would do it just after their OWLs, so as to not involve them. We all saw the extent of their army, and knew that not even the seven most powerful demigods, (I'm not bragging… Okay, maybe I'm bragging. But atleast it's true.) could hold Hogwarts against an army of that size. We couldn't even call Camp, as they were still getting into the swing of things.

Percy had managed to contact Nico, who said that he would try and make a rag-tag team of his friends to help us. Annabeth was trying to contact Thalia, and the hunt, but so far we were unsuccessful. Frank was trying to contact Camp Jupiter for some reinforcements, and they agreed to send a few people, but not too many as Camp Jupiter still had to run smoothly. We weren't looking too good.

Additionally, our OWLs were drawing closer, and how much I mentioned to Annabeth that our OWLs didn't matter, as we weren't staying here, she somehow managed to get us all to revise. That's where I was right now. In the Ravenclaw Common Room. Revising for Transfiguration, with Annabeth buried in many books, right next to me.

"Annabeth, remind me again why we need to revise when we're not even staying at the school?" I asked

"Because. It's still a school, and no matter where we are, we have to comply by the rules and regulations introduced by a school curriculum." She replied, not looking up.

"Annabeth, there's going to be an attack probably the day after our OWLs or something, shouldn't we be practicing?"

"Shut up Leo. We're doing revision, then we'll practice our battle tactics. I'm still trying to get to Thalia. Nico said that he alerted Thalia through her dreams, but I'm not sure if she got it. We'll just have to see."

Additionally, I thought that Hermione and Harry were on to us. Harry seemed to be having similar dreams to us, so I believed that he had known for a while, but didn't say anything. Hermione I thought, had been researching us for many months, and she had finally cracked the case, as she seemed to talk more cautiously around us, seemingly trying to ignore us. Our OWLs were drawing nearer, and so was that attack. Jason was also going for Qudditch Practice, making his schedule even further. We were trying to shore up defenses. Nico said that he was shadow-traveling to Hogwarts with a few friends in the next few days, and was going to reside in the Shrieking Shack. Camp Jupiter was also going to arrive, but Dumbledore was going to fix them a place in Hogsmeade. However, no word from Thalia or the Hunt had arrived, however, Nico insisted they were coming. Percy had also IMed Camp and was trying to get Chiron to convince the Party Ponies to come. However, Chiron was making little headway.

 **TIME SKIP**

Harry, Hermione, Percy and Annabeth had disappeared during the final Quidditch match of the season, and apparently they went with Hagrid and found out about his Giant, half-brother. His name was Grawp, and all the demigods were wary of him. However, we had since found out that Grawp was a harmless, wizarding giant. Quite contrary to the giants that we had fought on our quests. Now, we had got our OWL timetables, and our first lesson, Theory of Charms was scheduled for the next Monday morning. I was just hanging out in our Common Room, along with the others. Annabeth and Percy were quizzing each other on Charms. Piper was just running about helping people, as she was an ace at Charms. Jason was just reading over the Charms notes that he had made over the year. I was sitting with Ron, pouring over his Charms notes over the last few years. Harry and Hermione were quizzing each other. Hazel and Frank were skimming over their Charms notes together.

We ended up studying all day, and ran down as fast as we could to dinner, wishing to see Nico after dinner, who had promised to bring everyone into the Forbidden Forest. However, Annabeth shouted something in my ear, as I was gulping down some food.

"LEO! LEO! Are those the examiners?" She screamed. I looked, and inspected the small group of ancient, withered looking witches and wizards. I glanced at the Gryffindor table, and forced down a laugh as Hermione had the same reaction as Annabeth. We stood up and marched over towards them. Coincidently, the rest of the demigods, and the Golden Trio had also done the same thing. We rushed down to the great doors, pretending to just be loitering, when we stumbled in on a conversation.

'Journey was fine, journey was fine, we've made it plenty of times before!' an old witch said impatiently. 'Now, I haven't heard from Dumbledore lately!' she added, peering around the Hall as though hopeful he might suddenly emerge from a broom cupboard. 'No idea where he is, I suppose?'

'None at all,' said Umbridge, shooting a malevolent look at Percy and Harry, who were now dawdling around the foot of the stairs as Ron pretended to do up his shoelace. 'But I daresay the Ministry of Magic will track him down soon enough.'

'I doubt it,' shouted tiny Professor Marchbanks, 'not it Dumbledore doesn't want to be found! I should know ... examined him personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs ... did things with a wand I'd never seen before.'

'Yes ... well ...' said Professor Umbridge as we dragged our feet up the marble staircase as slowly as we dared, 'let me show you to the staff room. I daresay you'd like a cup of tea after your journey.'

As soon as they left, we went up to Gryffindor Tower to study. However, as soon as we got there we doubled back around and ran out the doors, going to meet Nico on the Forbidden Forest.

 **Hermione:**

Demigods. That was what the 'Americans' were. About a week ago, I was just pouring over books in the library about greek mythology to find more connections, when Leo and Jason walked in. They were talking about their OWLs and they said,

"We're not staying at this school." This made my suspicion grow. Suddenly, a book shelf collapsed on top of Jason, but he lazily waved his hand, and it fell to his right. I felt my eyes grow in disbelief, this wandless magic was powerful. However, Leo scolded him, and this was extremely weird.

"JASON! Don't use your powers like this. Any random mortal could've seen us!" Leo scolded. Jason sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck and replied,

"Sorry, I guess that the gods wouldn't like it if we revealed these powers." I put two and two together.

 _Gods?_ Powers? Mortals? I thought. Then, I swear I read something about powers, gods, and mortals in the book I was reading. I read over a specific excerpt.

 _It is said that these Ancient Greek demigods had powers depending on their parents. Zeus and Poseidon's children had the ability to manipulate the skies and the sea to their will. Hades' children were also able to raise the dead. Hades' children weren't really accepted due to the ability to raise the dead was seen as scary, and they isolated themselves. T_

 _These demigods, used their powers to protect regular mortals, usually after discovering their true relation to the gods. Their parents would usually send them on quests to kill monsters that were terrorizing mortal towns or presenting a problem to society._

This made me realise something. Demigods were said to be myths. But the same could be said about wizards. As a muggle-born, there were fairytales about wizards and witches that were told in modern culture. Could demigods currently exist? Yes. It was a possibility. Demigods. That's what they were. I was 90% sure. But how could I prove it? I didn't know. That was, until today.

"HARRY, HARRY! Are those the examiners?" I screamed. I looked, and inspected the small group of ancient, withered looking witches and wizards. I glanced at the Ravenclaw table, and forced down a laugh as Annabeth had the same reaction as me. We stood up and marched over towards them. Coincidently, the rest of the 'demigods', had also done the same thing. We rushed down to the great doors, pretending to just be loitering, when we stumbled in on a conversation.

'Journey was fine, journey was fine, we've made it plenty of times before!' an old witch said impatiently. 'Now, I haven't heard from Dumbledore lately!' she added, peering around the Hall as though hopeful he might suddenly emerge from a broom cupboard. 'No idea where he is, I suppose?'

'None at all,' said Umbridge, shooting a malevolent look at Percy and Harry, who were now dawdling around the foot of the stairs as Ron pretended to do up his shoelace. 'But I daresay the Ministry of Magic will track him down soon enough.'

'I doubt it,' shouted tiny Professor Marchbanks, 'not it Dumbledore doesn't want to be found! I should know ... examined him personally in Transfiguration and Charms when he did NEWTs ... did things with a wand I'd never seen before.'

'Yes ... well ...' said Professor Umbridge as we dragged our feet up the marble staircase as slowly as we dared, 'let me show you to the staff room. I daresay you'd like a cup of tea after your journey.'

Slowly, but surely we wandered up the staircases. However, just after we got in, the Americans ran off back down the portrait hole, saying something that sounded like _Forest._ I had to think fast. I ran up to Harry.

"Harry. I need your Invisibility Cloak," I implored, thinking that I could follow them.

"What do you need it for Hermione?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I need to follow the Americans, just give me the cloak." I asked, running out of patience.

"Hermione, I know what you're thinking, I know it's true, so I'm coming with you. We'll confront them later," Harry said. I was stunned, how did Harry know they were demigods? How did he know before me? I wanted to protest, but I shelved my pride and nodded. He ran up and pulled the cloak out from the depths of his trunk, and ran up to me. We ran out of the portrait hole. Ron was too busy trying to revise to notice we were gone. I knew we'd fill him in later, but now was not the time.

As soon as we got out of Gryffindor Tower, Harry threw the cloak over us, and we ran out of the school. Thankfully, the door was unlocked and we ran outside, just barely making out the silhouette of the seven, running down to the forest.

"Hurry!" I hissed, "We're going to miss them!" Harry nodded, and we ran, the cloak flapping about near his feet. We were careful to not step on any sticks, as to not alert them to our presence, unlike last time. After about ten minutes of walking, we came into the same clearing as last time. However, there were other people in the clearing, waiting with their arms crossed. Smirking at the seven.

The boy standing at the front looked about fourteen or fifteen, about the same age as us and the seven. He had messy black hair, that looked like he had just gotten out of bed, and needed a haircut. His skin was ghostly pale, almost white and he had sunken eyes. He was wearing black clothing, with skeletal designs on it, and black trousers that gave him the look of an emo. However, he had a scabbard strapped to his leg, and I saw the hilt of pure black blade sticking out the top. He also had a silver ring, that was shaped like a skull. I looked around at the other people standing behind him. They all looked vastly different, but I couldn't think of who they could be.

The ghostly kid cracked a smile and wrapped his arms around the seven.

"I missed you all," he choked out. It seemed that all of these guys knew each other.

"We missed you too Nico!" They echoed.

"I thought you weren't a touchy person?" Percy inquired.

"I make an exception for you guys. I can do that with no problem," he said, stepping back. "As I said, I have got a rag-tag team of demigods assembled. I think you'll see some familiar faces here." There. That was the proof. Those guys were demigods. I couldn't believe that they were literal children of the gods. My train of thought was cut off by Nico introducing everyone.

"This is Katie Gardner. You'll know her." A thin girl stepped over, dressed in bright green with blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Connor and Travis Stoll are also here. With Chris, from the Hermes cabin" He said, indicating three tall and skinny boys, with messy black hair and eyes that seemed to dart about, looking for anything to steal.

"I brought Malcolm and a majority of the Athena Cabin." He said, indicating many boys and girls that looked similar.

"I brought Clarisse and a few members of the Ares Cabin," he said, pointing towards about five boys and girls who looked muscly and could punch through solid rock.

"I also brought Will and the Apollo Cabin," he said, indicating a few boys and girls with lanky appearances with sandy blonde hair.

"There's Lou Ellen with two others from the Hecate Cabin. I thought they'd be helpful with all this magic stuff we're dealing with."

"Lastly, I brought Jake Mason, and a few from the Hephaestus Cabin."

I think that if they said much more, that my jaw would drop. They had cabins full of demigods? This was absolutely insane. There were about thirty five demigods, who had the power to destroy Hogwarts. The power emanating from this group was insane.

"I'll have to make this quick, as probably every monster in Scotland knows where we are. In about two weeks, the monster army will swarm Hogwarts, and attempt to destroy you. Also, Voldemort will try to lure Harry away, and without you to protect him, he'll try to kill Harry. You have to try and save Hogwarts. Harry will have to find his own path, but if I can, I will try and follow Harry if he gets lured away, but it might not be possible. Chiron knows that Harry will have to follow his own path, and instead he says to change the mission to protecting Hogwarts, not just Harry Potter. Camp Jupiter will arrive next week with about fifty more demigods. I contacted Thalia in my dreams as IMs aren't going through to the Hunt right now. I think she'll be here in time, but I don't know." Nico said.

"Don't let us down guys. We won't be able to meet again, you'll meet with Camp Jupiter next week, but for now, we have to go. We can't be attracting more monstrous attention." With that, Nico and the other demigods walked out. The seven were just talking among themselves. I nudged Harry, signaling that we needed to get up to the common room and confront them. We would also need to get Ron in on it. We ran as fast as we could, the cloak flapping about our legs. We ran into the common room. Ron was still studying, and only Lee Jordan and him were remaining in the common room. We ran and grabbed Ron and dragged him outside, despite his spluttering. I only hoped that since the demigods ( _uhh… It was weird to say demigods, but whatever._ ) had left their stuff up in the common room they would return to get it. We were standing in front of the portrait hole, waiting for them to come up.

In the next fifteen minutes all of them came up, looking behind them for trouble. They turned around and saw us, and their eyes widened.

"Oh we are in trouble…" Leo said. Piper slapped him on the head and spoke.

"What do you guys want?" she asked. I glared at them, and ushered them into an abandoned classroom the floor down. I made them sit down, while Harry, Ron and I stared at them. They had puzzled expressions on their faces. I broke the silence.

"Spill."

 **Oooh! Hope you enjoy this chapter. I ended it on a sorta cliff hanger. However, I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I enjoyed writing it a lot. Next chapter I think I'll push out tomorrow. I need help on what the main villain is going to be for the attack. One person said what they wanted, but frankly, I didn't think that their idea would jibe with what I will be writing. I really want to either make it the titans or giants. If anything else interests you please tell me. Review this chapter and tell me who you would prefer? Hope you enjoy.**

 **~RedGods**


	23. The Truth Escapes

**Me:** _ **Hops on Computer after going on holiday. Sees tons of reviews saying to update. "Didn't I say that I was going on holiday at the end of last chapter and wouldn't update for a few weeks?" Loads up previous chapter and reads the note at the bottom.**_

" _ **Oh god no! I forgot to add a note saying I'm on holiday!" I shout.**_

 **All jokes aside I genuinely believed that I told everyone that I was going on holiday for a few weeks. Guess I didn't. Well, here's the chapter that you've been asking for!**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Chapter 23: Jason**

I was elated. We had just reunited with Nico and many demigods from Camp Half-Blood. I yearned to see Camp again and I was terrified that something would happen to them in my absence. However, when thirty-five heavily armoured and familiar faces emerged from the murky depths of the Forbidden Forest, the joy that was radiating from my body was unmaskable. After a talk with Nico, and having confirmation about our backup we trudged back up towards the school.

We were given news that Camp Jupiter would arrive next week, and I was also excited to see Reyna and how they were getting along. Without Octavion ushering and whipping them into a frenzy, order would be restored and we would stand a chance against the army of monstrous beasts that I saw in my dream. We were absentmindedly walking up to Gryffindor Tower to retrieve our supplies, which we had so conveniently left back in the Common Room. Percy and I brought up the flank, scouring behind us for any danger. However, we detected none. Once we reached the portrait hole and we were about to walk in, before we came face to face with a scowling Hermione, Harry and Ron. They looked cross and my heart sank, I knew they were on to us. Despite this, Leo interrupted my train of thought.

"Oh we are in trouble…" Leo said. Piper slapped him on the head and spoke.

"What do you guys want?" she asked. Hermione glared at us, and before we could do anything had ushered us into an abandoned classroom the floor down. We were made to sit down while Hermione glared at us.

"Spill," was all she said.

I glanced at Annabeth, then at Piper, who shook their heads, which I took as the confirmation to feign ignorance.

"I have no idea what you're on about Hermione," I stated, with no emotion present in my voice. However, Hermione simply smirked and gestured to Harry. Harry stepped forwards and cleared his throat.

"We know who you are guys." We continued to feign ignorance,

"Harry, we're wizards just like you. What are you talking about?" Piper reasoned, putting charmspeak into her voice. Her charmspeak washed over the Golden Trio, and they looked dazed, but quickly, Hermione shook her head and her resolve strengthened.

"Don't try anything funny… Demigods…" she stated, with a smirk on her face. At those words, everyone's jaws dropped. We stared at her, stunned. In absolute shock that she had the guts to say those words, she would have to be 100% sure about this. Soon, Annabeth recovered from her shock, and her tone contained a more curious edge.

"I've been intrigued by you all," Hermione admitted, "I believed that you were powerful, and I didn't trust you. I knew that you weren't death eaters, but you seemed like very advanced witches and wizards; or something completely different. It first started during the D.A. sessions, you stayed after the lessons and practiced your, 'magic'," she said, making air quotes with her fingers. "Additionally, I noticed that during the week you would vanish into the Forbidden Forest. This peaked my interest, and one day, I snuck out Harry's Invisibility Cloak and snuck into the forest." I heard Annabeth muttering under her breath, some incoherent words…

"Should've known…, obvious—" but that was lost, as Hermione continued her story.

"There, I saw all of you practicing fighting with swords, knives, and a large assortment of weapons. I couldn't believe my eyes. Fifteen year olds, fighting like warriors with real blades that could hurt them, or worse… but acted like it was totally normal. I was entranced by your movements. I couldn't tear my eyes away. However, after what seemed like an eternity I forced my eyes away from you. Only for Leo to cry out that you all had been there for an hour. After this, I ran back up to the castle. Not before I saw you gaining on me. What intrigued me, was that Leo had said, Holy Hephaestus, and Hazel mentioned the Mist. However, when you were running up, I saw Percy dry all of you and conjure a great big ball of water above your heads. I first thought that this was wandless magic, but I started to research, and the only connections between those were the Greek Myths. But I thought, those can't be real. Can they?"

I sympathized, as did the rest of the seven. The Greek Myths sometimes just seemed to wack, and too out of proportion to make any sort of sense, but it was real.

"Anyways, I researched and I researched, but just came to the same conclusion. But I refused to accept it. The real break really only last week. Leo, Jason, when you were in the library." My heart sank. I remembered the day.

" _Jason! Get over here! We have to revise for our OWLs!" Leo shouted, in the library mind you. But somehow, no one even looked up and Madam Pince was far away. I groaned, and Leo pulled on his usual impish grin,_

" _Jase, this is important, we have to atleast look convincing, Annabeth would kill you if you didn't pass, and we need to not draw suspicion."_

" _But Leo, we're not even staying at this school!" I exclaimed. Leo shook his head and waved his hand as if it were of little importance and continued to walk forward. Leo, being the genius he was, wasn't looking where he was going and then knocked into a bookshelf which caused the books to topple._

 _I lazily flicked my hand backwards and the bookshelf soared backwards, not harming me. Leo looked at me with an eyebrow raised._

" _JASON! Don't use your powers like this. Any random mortal could've seen us!" Leo scolded. I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck and replied,_

" _Sorry, I guess that the gods wouldn't like it if we revealed these powers."_

" _Damn right. We're meant to not reveal our powers. We're just here to protect Harry and Hogwarts, kapish?"_

" _Kapish," I agreed._

By the time that Hermione finished her story, everyone was staring and me and Leo with exasperated expressions. Percy, much to my surprise broke the silence,

"Jason, it's fine, Hermione was the only one who found out, we're all careless sometimes…" Percy said, but after receiving a sharp scowl from Annabeth, corrected himself, "Well, most of us anyways." After sparing Percy another contemptuous glance, Annabeth turned back to Hermione,

"Well, Hermione, that was some impressive detective work. Just don't tell anyone else." She then turned to Harry and Ron, "How did you two find out?" she questioned.

"I didn't know, Hermione just told me recently," Ron replied.

"What about you Harry?"

"I've known since that first dream of Mr. Weasley…" Harry quietly responded. We all looked surprised. Harry had known for months, but didn't tell anyone else. Hazel broke the silence this time,

"Why didn't you tell Ron or Hermione?"

"I—I re—really don't know. I just guess that I trusted you enough to not share your secret. I guess…" Harry stuttered.

"Thank you Harry. For keeping this secret." Frank said. Harry inclined his head in acknowledgement. Then, he turned around and walked back towards the dorms. Ron and Hermione followed, but I could tell that they wanted to talk about this topic more.

"Well, I don't know about you. But I'm tired." Leo yawned out. This set everyone else off and soon, the sound of yawning was all that we heard, at this point I pointed out that we needed our strength for our OWLs tomorrow.

With that we bade each other goodbye and wandered back up to our dorms. After stumbling through the portrait hole, we ambled up the stairs and collapsed into our beds. I fell asleep immediately, but of course, sleep meant dreams.

"How much longer?" a voice boomed from the inky darkness. The voice sounded familiar to me, I knew it was a monster that much was clear. I took a moment to get my bearings. The foliage surrounding the clearing was dark green, and the bark of the trees were as dark as Nyx. The monster emerged, and I recognized his hideous ram-like face. The body of this monster was rippled with muscles and bile began to rise in my throat. The last time I faced Krios, I had almost died. I was still plagued with nightmares of his fists pummeling against my skin, knocking the wind out of me. It had wiped me out to kill him, and then, I had only barely done it. His screeching voice made my legs turn to jelly. My mind told me to run, but I was paralyzed and couldn't move. To greet the screech emanating from Krios' mouth, a high-pitched cackle returned the call.

"Soon, Titan. Soon. Your brother shall rise, and then you shall take Hogwarts. Harry Potter will be mine!"

"What's in it for me again? My lord?"

"Revenge. Jason Grace will be there. I know how much you wish for a rematch!" Voldemort laughed. Krios' eyes scrunched up, and his shoulders tightened, signifying defeat.

"This time I will punch the son of Jupiter to a pulp. This time, I won't hold back. I will destroy Jason Grace and I will prove to Tartarus that I am worthy. He released me, he won't take me back.

With that, the dream dissolved.

 **So yeah. Back from holiday and here's another chapter. The villain has been introduced. I introduced Krios the titan, but don't worry, Hyperion will be there and the other two will probably be there. I'm not sure about the whole Tartarus rising, but I might just add him in there to accept fate or to kill the Titans if they lose? Or maybe they will win? You never know.**

 **So tell me if you just want the titans, or if oyu want Tartarus to join the fight. I haven't the foggiest how to work him in, but if you wish for it, I shall try my best. I'll post quick, once I'm satisfied with my plot. Next chapter will just be filler though. So the fight will only begin in a few chapters.**

 **Anyways,**

 **~RedGods**


	24. Awkward Tensions

**So I had to rewrite this chapter a few times, I just couldn't get the plots I made up to work correctly. So, I took to the reviews and found a kinda cool idea. So thanks to ClearcloudofRiverHuffle, who just so happens to be one of the first reviewers on this story, so that's cool. Anyways, on with the chapter.**

 **Ron:**

I'd be lying if I wasn't completely freaked out, these guys that I was friends with, had the literal powers of gods. GODS! Bloody Gods.

Now I had to go to my OWLs, with that hanging over my head. If I was being honest with myself I was a bit nervous just being around them in general. I really just wanted to curl up and not go to my Theory of Charms exam, but I was just far too nervous to do so. I was just about to sink back into the realms of dreams until…

"Ron, wake up! We've got our Charms OWL today!" Percy shouted. I decided it would be smarter to just comply, and not risk getting a sword through my eye for not waking up.

"I'm coming Perce," I drearily replied, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Hey Ron, I know that you might be a bit uncomfortable now that you know who we are, but I hope that doesn't change anything between us, you know?" Percy asked. I put on my best smile, and said the exact opposite of what I wanted to say. What I truly wanted to say was,

"Sorry man, I just realised that you literally have to power to kill probably anyone in the school. You are the son of a god, and you really freak me out. The hell have you done? Apparently there is also an army coming towards our school that you are going to defend us from. Yeah, that weighing down on me makes it really easy to talk and interact with you. That changes nothing at all, why would it?"

However, what I said instead was…

"Of course Percy, nothing can change between us, we've been through a lot and I consider you one of my good friends. You being probably the most powerful person in this school would do nothing to change that," yeah I know that sounded sarcastic, but Percy didn't notice it. He solemnly nodded and grabbed his stuff and rushed down to breakfast, before his Theory of Charms OWL, I realised that I better follow and ran downstairs quickly.

Once I ran down into the Great Hall, the once bustling hall was full of quiet and hushed tones. I looked towards the Gryffindor Table and saw Harry and Percy talking together, but Hermione was sitting far away from them, absorbed in her revision. I walked over to her, ignoring the slight wave I got from the demigods, urgh… demigods. What a weird word. I walked next to Hermione and tapped her on the shoulder.

She turned around and she snarled at me for interrupting her revision. I presented my hands in front of my body, showing I meant no harm.

"Calm down Hermione, I just wanted to sit down and talk." She nodded, and gestured next to her, asking me to sit. "So, why aren't you sitting next to the demigods?" I asked her. She shrugged, and then read her notes for a full minute before replying.

"I don't know Ron. It just seems weird that we just happen to be friends with probably the most powerful people of the centuries. Literal children of the greek gods. I just don't know if I'll ever be able to look at them the same. How will we explain this?"

"I don't know either Hermione. I feel the same, do you just think if we'll be upfront with them, we'll all work it out?"

"Maybe Ron, after today, maybe we'll ask."

After breakfast was finished, All of the fifth and seventh years were told to stand outside the Great Hall, waiting for their Charms exams while everyone else filed out. I stood next to Harry, who seemed to interact with the demigods without any problem. I guess he knew for a while, so it wasn't a shock and he came to terms with it. I also think that the whole having a problem like every year and being the centre of it every single time had something to do with it as well.

While waiting for the doors to open, I went through my mental charms notes, hoping that it would all go well. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Professor McGonagall finally walked through the doors and stared at us, gesturing for us to enter the hall.

Gone were the four house tables had been removed and replaced instead with many tables for one, all facing the staff-table end of the Hall where Professor McGonagall stood facing them. When we were all seated and quiet, she said, 'You may begin,' and turned over an enormous hour-glass on the desk beside her, on which there were also spare quills, ink bottles and rolls of parchment.

I turned over my paper, my heart thumping hard-three rows to my right and four seats ahead Hermione was already scribbling-and I scoured the room. Annabeth was already writing, while Piper was doing the same. However, most of the other demigods, excluding Hazel took a moment to survey their surroundings, as if they expected an ambush. Considering who they were, it was totally possible. Finally, I tore my eyes away and turned them to the first question: a) Give the incantation and b) describe the wand movement required to make objects fly.

I had a fleeting memory of a club soaring high into the air and landing loudly on the thick skull of a troll ... smiling slightly, I bent over the paper and began to write.

"Well, that wasn't too bad was it?" Piper asked, after leaving the hall. I turned to her and replied,

"Please, stop Piper, you're way too good at Charms for your own good. Your demigod skills must've transferred," I chuckled. Piper glared at me, before turning away. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say, but that's beside the point.

The fifth-years ate lunch with the rest of the school (the four house tables had reappeared for the lunch hour), then they trooped off into the small chamber beside the Great Hall, where they were to wait until called for their practical examination. As small groups of students were called forwards in alphabetical order, those left behind muttered incantations and practised wand movements, occasionally poking each other in the back or eye by mistake.

Annabeth's name was called, and she walked in, trembling, same for Hermione. Most of the others however, seemed to take it easy and chilled out. However, they didn't return so I had no idea how they did.

Harry and I managed to get into a group, and Harry was treated well by the Professor, who said,

"Potter? The famous Potter?" which promptly caused Malfoy to drop the wine glass he was levitating. I made eye-contact with Harry and we barely managed to contain the laughter that was threatening to explode out of both of our mouths.

Truth be told, it wasn't that bad. My levitation charm was better than Malfoy for sure, but had I not mixed up the incantations for Colour Change and Growth Charms, so that the rat he was supposed to be turning orange swelled shockingly and was the size of a badger I would've done better. However, I managed to turn a dinner plate into a mutated mushroom, and I had no idea about how it happened. I ignored the demigods when they tried to greet me, so it was just awkward being in their company. At one point Frank started to walk towards me and I just ran towards the stairs, only to realise that it was the stairwell to the girl's dorms, which promptly turned into a slide, and I fell down, embarrassed, Frank pulled me up and gestured me towards the common room, where all the demigods were looking slightly aggravated. Hermione was standing opposite them, and I was shoved next to her. Trembling slightly, I looked towards them, and gave them a slight smile.

"Why are you avoiding us?" Hazel asked, in a worried tone. I raised my eyebrow at Hermione, clearly indicating that she should do the talking. Hermione shrugged, then exhaled.

"Guys, it's just just th—that you are probably the most powerful people in the past century, with the power to destroy the school, and kill everyone. It's just extremely uncomfortable that all the good memories we made with you were made with half-gods. I'm sorry, I'm doing a horrible job of explaining it, but it's just a lot to take in."

Instead of the death glares, I was expecting, they all gave understanding looks, like they had similar thoughts.

"Hermione, when we found out we were demigods, the exact same thing went through our heads. It was just really awkward and scary that I was half-god and for someone else to experience their whole world turned upside down, it's just relatable for us," Annabeth reasoned, and all the other demigods nodded.

In my heart, I felt a lump of ice melt, that I hadn't even known existed until now. I felt that lump of emotions uncurl and I felt the awkwardness that I had felt since learning the truth slowly evaporate. They knew what they were going through, but there was one more thing that I could ask that would help comfort me even more.

"Uh guys, this is quite an awkward request, but could you do one of those IMs and let us talk to your headmaster, Mr. Brunner, or whatever." I asked. Percy smirked, then glanced at Hermione as if he knew she'd enjoy it.

"Well, the headmaster of Camp Half-Blood, is a centaur, by the name of Chiron." Hermione's eyes seemed to bulge out of her sockets.

"Chiron… the centaur… as in… the trainer of HERCULES, AND JASON!" she practically screamed.

"Yes, the one and only," Percy smugly replied. He then plucked a coin out of his pocket, and summoned some water from a nearby goblet and created a rainbow. Oh Iris, god of the rainbow, accept my offering.

 **Another chapter done. Feel free to review and follow, and whatever else you like. Thanks for 20K views, this is insane.**

 **Anyways,**

 **~RedGods**


	25. Iris-Messages and Backstories

**Long story short, I haven't been uploading for the past like 3 weeks because school started up. The first three weeks have been absolutely hectic, and I'm not sure how long I will be able to update from this point forward. I think I'll aim for one chapter every one or two weeks. That'll be my goal.**

 **Chapter 25:**

 **Hermione:  
**

 _Flashback to last chapter:_

"Yes, the one and only," Percy smugly replied. He then plucked a coin out of his pocket, and summoned some water from a nearby goblet and created a rainbow. Oh Iris, god of the rainbow, accept my offering.

As Percy threw a single, rusted, gold coin, that despite the rust and the metals eroding, glinted widly cascading colours of gold across the room. Upon further inspection, I assumed that this was a drachma, an ancient Greek coin. I personally thought that it's shape and size was quite similar to a galleon. Large, with a sparkling gold colour everpresent on the circular object's surface.

As Percy threw the coin into the rainbow, he mumbled something that was audible. Possibly telling this 'Iris' to show us Chiron at Camp Half-Blood. My attention was dragged back to the rainbow as the coin that was thrown didn't disperse the water or disfigure the rainbow, simply disappearing into the mixture of bright colours. From those bright colours, an image was conjured. First, it appeared to look like an middle-aged, slightly aging man, with friendly crinkles adorning his face. His white skin constrasted drastically from his thinning brown, hair, and extremely bushy eyebrows that further accentuated his face's features, complemented wonderfully by a scruffy, shaggy beard that appeared as though it hadn't been shaved in a while. At first, he looked like a very basic man, who was getting on in years. Until, Harry and Ron audibly gasped, and my eyes panned downwards, revealing a brilliant white stallion body. Strong white legs, perfectly built for a long run. He was the perfect combination between horse and man… Wait what? Horse and man?

I slowly put two and two together and saw that the old man that was smiling towards me was a centaur. Not any centaur, but Chiron the Centaur. Trainer of Hercules and Jason. He was standing in front of me. I drew in breath, trying to suppress my immediate instinct to start blurting out facts. My face must've looked hilarious as Percy and Leo snickered, and held in their laughs. Annabeth was grinning at all of us, as if she expected this reaction from us. I turned back towards the IM of Chiron, and I caved in, I started spewing information at him.

"Are you really a son of Kronos? Are you actually 3000 years old? How are you still alive? What was training Jason li—"

"Child," once he started speaking my body straightened and I stopped spewing facts at him. I looked up at his face, and he still looked amused, but his eyes held an icy stare, that told me that he wanted me to get serious. I nodded my head.

"Wow. This is hard to take in," Ron blurted out. I mentally cringed. Ron always had the habit of doing this, randomly interjecting in the middle of the sentence. I sighed, before strengthening my resolve and turning to Chiron.

"Hi Mr. Chiron sir. My name is Hermione Granger, and I'm the friend of the seven demigods you sent to protect Harry," I expected Chiron to be surprised that we knew about demigods, but he just smiled as if he knew that we would find out.

"Ahhh… Miss Granger. Dumbledore told me that it would only take a matter of time until you found out. After all, it's true. You truly are the brightest witch of your age." I blushed at the compliment, only to be shaken out of my stupor by Harry.

"Dumbledore? You know Dumbledore?" He asked, bewildered.

"Of course I know Dumbledore. I've known him for a long time and I've found his advice very useful through my life."

Harry's jaw dropped, Ron's face assumed his regular confused expression, but I turned to look at Annabeth and everyone elses reaction, only to promptly realise they had left the room. _Well isn't this great?_ I thought.

"Why did you Iris Message Camp?" Chiron inquired. Seeing Ron and Harry's blank expressions, I decided to ask the question that we all wanted to know.

"Well, Chiron sir. I was wondering if we could talk to you about the seven demigods and v-verify their s-story?" I stuttered out. Chiron stayed silent for a moment, and then regretfully started speaking.

"Well, I guess you deserve to know everything about them," he sighed out. "Okay, so I'll start off with the Romans, Jason, Frank and Hazel as I know them the least. So as it goes… Jason, he is the son of Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus king of the ski—"

"Sorry sir!" I interrupted. "But, I thought they were all greek demigods?" I questioned, until a foreign thought simmered in my brain. "Unless, there are roman demigods as well?" I croaked out, afraid my brain would explode from all this new information. Chiron nodded, before continuing.

"That's all well and good, but I'd prefer it if you didn't keep interrupting me Miss. Granger." I blushed, and nodded, embarrassed by that being pointed out."

"Well, Jason's father is Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Zeus. Jason has the power to call down lightning and fly. When he was 2, he was taken to Camp Jupiter and trained to be a warrior in the legion. He used to be praetor of the twelfth legion. He slew the Trojan Sea Monster. He toppled the black throne of Kronos, Titan of Time. He also fought the Titan Krios with his bare hands in the 2nd Titan War. In the Giant War, he fought the twin giants Otis and Ephilates. He also fought Pophyrion, king of the Giants and the anti-Jupiter twice. He's also done countless near-impossible tasks that are too numerous to count."

My head felt dizzy. He fought titans? Sea monsters? Titans were extremely powerful in Greek Mythology and Jason fought them? He even fought the king of the Giants? Whose power was said to rival the gods. If this was just one of them what was their power combined.

"Then there's Hazel. Her father is Pluto, the Roman equivalent of Hades. She has control of gems and all the precious metals in the Earth. Oh, she also came back from the dead after she died saving the world from Alcyoneus. She also went on the quest to Alaska where she encountered many perils and released Thanatos. Then, she killed Alcyoneus and raced back to Camp Jupiter where she fought against a giant army."

Came back from the dead? Killed a giant? Released the incarnation of death? Hazel, who seemed so sweet and caring had done so many death-defying tasks. Despite some of those things paling in comparison to Jason, that didn't change anything.

"Then there's Frank. His dad is Mars, the Roman form of Ares. Additionally, he has the blood of Poseidon due to Poseidon being an ancestor. Due to this, he can shape-shift into many animals. He also went on the trip to Alaska and did the same things as Hazel: killing Alcyoneus and freeing Thanatos."

Their amazing powers never ceased to amaze me. I didn't know how to react after hearing all of this? I felt.. inferior. I paled in comparison. I was intelligent yes, but they had faced so much.

"Next is Leo. Leo is always a troublemaker, but his father is Hephaestus, the Greek god of the forges. He is immune to heat and can control fire. In addition to that, he is a technical genius, he can basically create anything from anything. He fought Clytius at the Doors of Death has saved the Seven's lives more times than I can count." **(I just can't remember what the heck Leo else does and what he kills? There's like nothing on the internet either!)**

Oh god. This just kept get crazier and crazier. I couldn't even think what else would come next? A guy with powers over like metal? Something ridiculous!

"After that is Piper. She has charmspeak, and is the daughter of Aphrodite, Greek goddess of Love. Using her charmspeak she can convince someone to do anything that she wishes them to, which came in useful multiple times throughout the Giant War. She slew the sorceress Medea and her weapon, Katoptris is used to see events that are happening which makes her a valuable asset to the Seven."

Being able to control people's will? That was an amazing power. She had killed a sorceress, that would mean that she could easily destroy a witch like herself, but Piper was a good friend, she wouldn't do anything to harm me.

"After that is Annabeth…Where do I begin. Well, Annabeth is a daughter of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom. She has no specific powers but her wisdom and battle strategies are truly exquisite. She's travelled to the Underworld. She's navigated the Sea of Monsters, taken Atlas' burden and held up the sky, navigated the Labyrinth, witnessed the fading of Pan, fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth, the Battle of Manhattan, received the Mark of Athena, retrieved the Athena Parthenos, survivor of Tartarus, which is basically the greek form of hell, and fought in the second Giant War." After that, Chiron let out a big sigh, as if he was out of breath.

I turned my head to look at Harry and Ron, both of whom looked like their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. I felt the same way. Annabeth had done so many things. She had encountered in a few years what the entire of Hogwarts combined wouldn't experience in a life time. AND she literally trudged through hell? WHAT? These demigods are truly the most powerful beings on this planet, no doubt about it. After what they've seen, they could probably fight Dumbledore! Chiron let out a sigh, before continuing his monologue.

"Percy Jackson has probably experienced the most out of everyone else. Well, he's the son of Poseidon, Greek god of the seas. He has powers over water and can control it to create many structures such as hurricanes and tidal waves. He is the defeater of Ares, god of War, retriever of the Master Bolt, retriever of the Helm of Darkness, Sailor of the Sea of Monsters, Retriever of the Golden Fleece, bearer of the weight of the sky (like Annabeth), witnessed the fading of Pan, former bearer of the Curse of Achilles, Saviour of Olympus, Hero of Olympus, subject of two Great Prophecies, survivor of Tartarus, fought in the Battle of Manhattan and the Giant War, and so much more…"

I think I would've fainted upon hearing that. Percy Jackson… had done all that? He had faced so many things, the rest of the demigods had done some pretty impressive stuff but Annabeth and Percy had done so much more! What could we have done that compared to them?

"Well, that's basically all I've got. Anything else you want to know?" Chiron inquired, marveling at our gob-smacked expressions. None of us appeared that we were going to speak or move for the next hour after multiple bombshells were dropped repeatedly onto our fragile skulls. After what felt like an eternity, Harry, Ron and I all faced each other, with our faces still etched with disbelief.

"So… they've done a lot of things…" Ron lamely mumbled.

"Some things? Ronald! They've done more than anyone else. But now that their story is verified, we have nothing to be scared of, we can go back to treating them normally!" I exclaimed. Ron looked up at me, and responded, his bright attitude seemingly coming back.

"Yeah I guess," he responded. Ron, Harry and I parted ways and crawled up to our respective dorms. I laid in my bed, trying to sleep after all that new information saturating my brain.

 **New chapter. Sorry for not uploading for a while, reason was stated above. One Chapter every 1-2 weeks. Yeah. Next chapter I think we'll do a timeskip and skip to where stuff gets interesting. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	26. Meetings and Trouble

**Chapter 26: Hazel**

 **TIMESKIP**

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally reached the weekend. We had done our Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Defence Against the Dark Arts. I had always found magic easier than the rest, probably due to my ability to control The Mist. Sure, I had found the written paper for Transfiguration difficult, but my practical wasn't bad. At least I was able to vanish my entire iguana on my third attempt, unlike Jason, who had transformed the iguana into a large flock of eagles, and the examination had to be halted for around 20 minutes, as they tried to be recaptured.

I did horrible in Herbology though. I guess it's because of the whole Daughter of Pluto thing, and plants wither and die and try go as far away from me. This happened to Nico all the time, and the same throughout the year in Herbology, and Professor Sprout had no idea what was happening. Basically the same thing happened in the practical.

The examiner called me in, and I walked in slowly. I was told to repot, care for and trim many plants. However, as soon as I came near them, the plants seemed to wither, die, or protest heavily at me repotting them. I was bitten, stung and hurt by so many of those dangerous plants; it was so embarrassing. Eventually, the examiner seemed to think that I had had enough and the plants clearly weren't my thing, so he ushered me out.

Defence Against the Dark Arts however, was very good. All of us, including Harry, Ron and Hermione did really well. None of us had any problem on the practical due to our extensive research and we shone in the practical. The D.A and our own practicing benefitted us greatly. Umbridge was watching all of us from the doors to the Entrance Hall, surveying our moves like a hawk, trying to find out if there was any more incriminating evidence on us. If she found out we were demigods… the Ministry would have a field day, and that was the last thing we needed.

All in all, I was super happy to reach the weekend, and take a break, even if we had to revise for potions of the day back. Camp Jupiter was due to arrive today, and we'd go down to meet them. I was excited to see Reyna and members of the 5th Cohort. Half way through the day, while the rest of the Seven and I were just walking throughout the fields, roaming near the lake when Harry, Ron and Hermione started running towards us, with concerned, yet excited looks on their faces.

"Hazel!" Hermione shouted.

I whipped around immediately, scouring the land for any threats that would endanger my friends. However, when Hermione ran up to me, I thought she was attacked or in danger, but instead she asked me a question that I didn't expect.

"Can we come and talk to those other demigods with you?" she asked, nicely. I was stumped, and it was Annabeth who spoke up.

"Hermione, I don't think that you can, but you must understand the risks. You would be running in, unintroduced into a large group of demigods, who will all have deadly weapons. I don't think it's wise to do this."

"Oh come on Annabeth. We'll be fine. Just vouch for us and we'll be alright," Ron exclaimed.

"It's not just that Ron. They might just identify you as a threat before we can do anything," Percy replied.

"Annabeth, doesn't Celestial Bronze not have the ability to harm mortals?" Hermione said, eagerly. Annabeth sighed tiredly before responding,

"Yes, but we're not sure about wizards. You could be considered dangerous enough that Celestial Bronze might be able to harm you. Want to check?" Annabeth joked. Surprisingly, Hermione volunteered,

"Sure." Annabeth shrugged and Percy and Jason looked about to laugh. Leo was staring absentmindedly into the distance, Frank and I, along with Piper were staring at what was going to happen. Annabeth pulled out her bronze dagger, and attempted to make a line across her skin, but it simply faded through, falling straight through her pale skin, leaving her unblemished and unharmed. A look of delight pounced onto Hermione's face and she adopted a child-like voice, begging to come.

"C'mon Annabeth, there's no harm. The Celestial Bronze can't hurt us, no harm can befall us," Hermione exclaimed. Defeated, Annabeth sighed and replied, clearly knowing that Hermione wouldn't give up.

"Sure. It's not like it can hurt you anyways."

Harry and Ron high-fived, which was weird, considering that they had said nothing throughout the whole conversation.

After that pronouncement, we walked alongside the trio, and was pelted with question after question of Ancient Roman mythology and facts about the legions, she almost exclusively talked to me and Frank about how aqueducts, the Roman baths and a plethora of other questions about Rome that she was fascinated about. Jason and Piper walked with Harry, talking about OWLs. Percy and Annabeth walked arm in arm, chatting to Ron about some of their lengthy adventures, which Ron seemed to find fascinating.

All in all, the day passed extremely quickly. Soon, it was nightfall and it was time to sneak out of our dorms. I was in the Hufflepuff dorm so as to not draw attention to ourselves. We were right next to the kitchen and once I had gathered Piper, we hurried quickly out of the portrait hole, after quickly tapping the barrels to be able to exit and began to jog towards the exit. Along the way, we caught a glimpse of Filch's cat Mrs. Norris, but somehow she left us alone and we were able to quickly and quietly leave the castle.

We walked to the edge of the Dark Forest, our designated meeting spot to find that Annabeth and Leo were already there.

"Hey guys!" I shouted, my voice echoeing of the inky blank expanses of the surrounding trees.

"Hey Hazel!" Leo shouted back. Not wanting to alert the whole school to our presence I ceased my shouting and ran towards them. Exhaling deeply from the sprint, I asked something between my heavy breaths.

"Have—you- seen- anyone else?" I gasped out. Annabeth shook her head, indicating that none of them were here yet. I stood there, shrugging it off, they'd be fine.

After standing there for ten more minutes I began to get more worried, my breathing rate increased due to my worry, however, it was quelled when six specks ran down towards us, I was so happy, I ran and embraced Frank. He was significantly out of breath and panting.

"What happened Frank? What took so long?" I scolded. Frank put his hands up to create a time out symbol as if to say _Be right with you, I just need to reorientate myself… ._ After about five more minutes of panting, more scolding from Annabeth and Piper, who also went and embraced their boyfriends, Jason finally cleared his throat and began to monologue.

"Well, so we were basically leaving the Common Room…"

 **Jason:**

" _Jason wake up!" I heard dimly from my left-hand side, rubbing the sleep from my eyes I turned and assessed my surroundings. It appeared that I had fallen asleep on one of the armchairs in the Gryffindor Common Room. I was told by Percy and Harry to not fall asleep, as running through the halls of Hogwarts while drowsy was harder (something that was reinforced by first-hand experience) than running while wide-awake. I was shaken from my stupor by Frank, who was grinning broadly, obviously excited to see the legion again. We had been at Hogwarts approaching a year now, and Frank was obviously thrilled to see his fellow Romans again. I was extremely happy again. Seeing the rest of the Fifth Cohort and especially Reyna was exhilarating._

 _Piper and Reyna had definitely sorted out their problems over these past few months and I had assured her a multitude of times that she had nothing to be jealous of. That being said, I would have always been cautious around Reyna, but after a certain point, all three of us got the message and we went back to messing around and being friends. I was tapped on the shoulder repeatedly by Frank, who shook me out of my dream again,_

" _Jason, hurry up, we're leaving Gryffindor Tower. This time, I responded_

" _Yeah Frank, I'm ready? Where's Harry, Ron and Hermione?" I asked_

" _They're getting their invisibility cloak, so they can easily sneak past Filch or anyone that comes bellowing past us in the corridors," Frank replied._

" _What about us? How're we going to get through?" I questioned. Once I said this, Percy popped up from his position in an armchair and input into the conversation._

" _Well, Frank can turn into something small and run around the castle easily, but he said he didn't want to abandon us, so he offered to stay with us. You could fly to get there quicker, but it is clearly too obvious. I doubt I could do anything, I could shroud myself in water or something, but I doubt that would work."_

 _I nodded, deep in thought, "I guess we're just going to have to run and hope that no one sees us," I concurred. Just as I finished my sentence, the trio ran down the stairs, with broad grins shining upon their faces, holding a carefully folded silver piece of cloth. Having already seen this, I knew this was an invisibility cloak._

" _So? Are we just going to stand around, or are we going to meet these demigods?" Harry asked, with humour tinging his tone._

" _Nah Harry, we're just standing around… joking. We're going now," Percy replied. Harry nodded, and threw the piece of fabric above him, covering both Ron and Hermione, but barely, completely obstructing them from view. I strolled up to the portrait hole, and uttered the password "_ _Alea iacta es."_ _ **(Before you ask, yes I looked on Pottermore. It means The die is cast, just for extra info)**_

 _After the portrait hole swung, forward releasing the three of us from its contents, as well as the three wizards behind us under the cloak. During this, we knew that the wizards were close to us, due to the constant scraping of feet across the dull concrete of Hogwart's floors, and the stumbling and cursing that came with 3 fifteen year old's trying to fit under one cloak._

 _After a few minutes of walking briskly, without any interruption, I believed we'd make it clearly, however, our luck wouldn't last as soon enough, we heard the high-pitched shriek of a horrifying Slytherin girl : Pansy Parkinson._

" _Draco, didn't you hear something in that corner?" She cooed. The sleek blond head of Draco Malfoy protruded around the corner, but thankfully, not even his sight could penetrate the shadows that we had concealed ourselves with._

" _Probably some scum walking around, trying to displease our Headmistress. Don't worry about it Pansy." Draco jeered. Behind Malfoy, his two thugs Crabbe and Goyle were standing around, looking as usual, as if they had no idea what was happening in their surroundings. Behind them, was a Slytherin girl who's name I didn't know, but she appeared to be freakishly beautiful. She had long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes, as if she knew where we were. She smirked inwardly, before turning to our corner. She stared at us for a few moments, before averting her eyes, and I believe that she had saw us._

 _To make matters even worse, Ron had slipped out from under the invisibility cloak, looking entranced by the beauty of this strange girl and his feet were seen by Goyle, who grunted and pointed in our direction, and Malfoy let out a cackle before menacingly walking towards them. We took this opportunity to break into a sprint, and attempt to break line of sight with the Inquisitorial Squad, however, Frank's shoe squeaked loudly upon the surface of the floor, which alerted Crabbe to our presence. Instead of calling for his friends, being as stupid as he is, he chased after us. He began to pant heavily after about two seconds of sprinting, but showed no signs of stopping, no doubt determined to impress Malfoy. Thankfully, we passed a broom cupboard and Frank took initiative, pulling his wand from the depths of his robes and firing three curses behind us, and a grunt and thud behind us indicated that it had met its mark._

 _We slowed down and rotated, only to see Crabbe laying motionless on the ground, when an idea burst into my head. Percy and I grinned, and I knew we were thinking the same thing, and moving as a seamless team, we picked up Crabbe's huge frame and lugged him into the broom cupboard. We were only a few floors till we would reach the entrance hall, and we took a break, before we heard the pattering of feet behind us, seeing Hermione, Ron and Harry, sweating like mad, having shed the invisibility cloak following us._

" _How did you guys get away?" I asked, genuinely curious._

" _We didn't," Harry replied, "They're probably still on our tail, we need to keep moving." Without further confirmation other than the voices echoing through the hallways carrying the complaints of Malfoy, we bolted down the stairs and out through the doors. We didn't stop running, until we reached the edge of the Forest, where everyone else was waiting patiently. Without giving us time to rest, Hazel rushed and embraced Frank, Piper ran and embraced me, and Annabeth ran and embraced Percy. After minutes of scolding from Piper and after catching my breath, I cleared my throat and began to recount the events just passed…_

"So, basically that's what happened," I finished, somewhat lamely and all the girls looked exasperated, while Leo cracked a wide grin and stuck both his thumbs up.

Leo began to adopt a teasing tone, and look Ron dead in the eyes, "So Ron," he said, wiggling his eyebrows "Who was that certain Slytherin girl that caught your eye?" Hermione glared angrily at Ron, and I knew it was not only from anger by blowing our cover, but that the circumstances had caused her to get jealous, Ron of course, being as dense as he is, didn't take the hint and instead, blushed scarlet after these words and mumbled out,

"I don't know, it starts with K for sure. Katie? Katherine? Kylie? … something like that." He finished. All the boys smirked at him, before abandoning the topic and moving on.

After a while, we pulled ourselves together and plunged into the Forbidden Forest, and in the clearing where we'd usually train, we expected to find the Roman reinforcements.

After minutes of walking through the dull forest, we finally approached the clearing, and saw a large group of people, all clad in gleaming armour, their sharp eyes darting around the area, scouring the scenery for any threats. When we made our appearance, walking confidently into the clearing we heard the unmistakable noise of a bowstring being draw taught, but once we showed our faces, the archers lowered their bows – before immediately drawing them again and firing two arrows into the first person they didn't recognize: Hermione. I let out a guttural cry as the arrow sailed towards the young wizard, and upon my cry, devastated faces appeared across the legionnaires faces. The arrow flew towards Hermione and I flicked my wrist, summoning the winds to knock the arrow away. I waited for the arrow to be knocked off course from my power… one instant – two instants – three instants… I missed. The arrow sailed towards Hermione's chest and knocked her twice in the chest; splitting each other down the middle. Upon this, Harry and Ron let out a scream and fell to the ground, looking down aghast at Hermione's body. Despite this, I couldn't help but notice the constant rise and fall of her chest, meaning that she was still breathing and not dead. What surprised me most though, was the groan that escaped her lips and she quivered slightly before standing up again, much to the shock of everyone around her.

"How did you survive that? That was an arrow piercing your skin!" Ron practically screamed, before crushing Hermione in a hug. The hug lasted for several seconds, before Ron whipped around and began ranting towards the legionnaires, which probably wasn't the smartest thing: ranting loudly about many demigods clad in armour. While Ron was in the middle of his speech,

"- HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING - THAT WAS SO CRU- YOU ALMOST KILLED HE-." Before he was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Stop."

A girl of about seventeen, almost eighteen with piercing black eyes and glossy hair of the purest black, worn down the back of her neck in a braid and toned skin that showed of her Hispanic origins. Her imperial gold armour glittered dangerously in the fading moonlight and her long purple cloak was glittering, as if interwoven with filaments of imperial gold, walked out from behind the stump of a tree, her eyes blazing dangerously.

Upon seeing her glare, Ron faltered, and began to quiet down, but still muttering inaudible insults under his breath. Reyna continued to glare at Ron, obviously angry at him for insulting her legionnaires. She then turned to her legionnaires,

"Stand down. These are obviously friends of these demigods. Any friend of theirs is a friend of ours, treat them appropriately," she boomed, her authorative voice echoing throughout the forest. She then turned her body back around and faced us, and a grin spread across her face.

"I know I'm not exactly one for hugs… but come on, give us a hug!" Reyna exclaimed. We were only too glad to agree, and we all lined up and embraced Reyna, and muttered words incoherently, such as, when I came up, I hugged her, before whispering in her ear,

"I missed you Reyna," and she repaid me in turn replying with

"I missed you too Jason."

After everyone had given her a hug, her posture straightened, and her voice turned extremely serious, and she disregarded Harry, Hermione and Ron as if she had never known they were there.

"So, you needed help, and I delivered," she began, indicating around her frame, showing off around 40-60 iron clad demigods.

"I brought a majority of the Fifth Cohort, and a few select legionnaires from each of the other cohorts. So this is…" Yeah, after about that time I had zoned out and only zoned back in when she mentioned the last name.

"Soo… Finally, we have Gwen and Dakota," she finished. At this point I gasped when she said those names. From behind the mass, the familiar tall and buff stature of Dakota was present, his curly black hair was still as present as ever, as was his permenantly red stained lip and his trusty flask of Kool-Aid that was everpresent.

However, what I was most interested to hear about was Gwen, who had retired from the legion last year, but sure enough the similar frame and hair of Gwen emerged from the same place as Dakota and I looked and saw Hazel, Percy and Frank's mouths wide open in amazement. Gwen looked at us, and smirked catching the eye of those three, before talking,

"Before any of you asked, I decided to come out and take a few months of college in New Rome, I needed to help my friends, they obviously needed it," she cheekily replied, before winking at them. Percy and the others still seemed to be confused. Gwen chuckled lightly, before stepping back and letting Reyna continued.

"So, we've brought a lot of reinforcements as according to you, we're fighting a huge army to protect Hogwarts, we can't let anyone die when we could've prevented it." Reyna stated, adamant about her stance. Before any of us could reply, she spoke again,

"We'll better clear out, I promised that we'd rendezvous with Nico right after this, every monster in the the northern part of Europe probably knows where we are…" she said, before flicking her hands, summoning her two dogs and instructing the legion to follow her, and they followed.

We just stood awkwardly for a few minutes, before I shook myself out of my stupor and spoke,

"Guys, we need to get back up to our dorms, we don't want to be late back to the dorms, we need to revise for our Potion OWLs, even if it's completely pointless due to the looming attack," I replied reasonably, there was a murmur of assent and we all walked up to the castle, with Ron, Harry and Hermione for the possibly first time, not saying anything and walking with dumbfounded expressions back up to the castle.

 **Chapter done. I spent a few days on this, just a couple minutes a day and it's quite long and a lot went down. Who is that mysterious Slytherin girl, and pay close attention to the Imperial Gold not hurting Hermione, there's a clue hidden in there somewhere. Now Reyna and Nico are here. The hunt isn't going to turn up sadly… or are they? Haha. Only I know. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **~RedGods**


	27. To Hagrid's

**Chapter 27: Piper**

Why does the weekend always seem so short? OWLs were restarting this morning and I was exhausted. I was simply lying in my bed in the Hufflepuff dorm and pouring over Potions notes that I had managed to jot down in class, and let me get this out of the way… I am horrible at potions. Unlike Percy, Annabeth, Hazel and Hermione who seemed to be decent at it, the rest of us never got used to all the fiddly bits that were an intrinsic part of potions, and our ADHD didn't help either.

Additionally, it was hard to concentrate on something as trivial as schoolwork and exams when there was an army of thousands of greek monsters possibly stationed outside Hogwarts right now. Yeah, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were here, and that was assuring, but my dreams weren't helping matters at all.

 _Flashback:_

 _Right after seeing Reyna and the rest of Camp Jupiter again, Hazel and I sprinted back through the corridors and down stairs all the way to the Hufflepuff Common Room. We had one more day to pour over our game-plan of what to do against an army. We were going to meet at Hagrid's Hut, who said he needed to do some work in the forest and that we could use his hut while he was gone. I had a feeling that maybe he knew who we were through Dumbledore telling him, but I couldn't be sure._

 _Anyways, I climbed into bed and kept tossing and turning; I just couldn't get to sleep. I woke up, punched my pillow in a better shape and lay down again, but it didn't work. Eventually, in desperation, I picked up Katoptris, deciding that seeing some visions may help me get to sleep. The first few visions were lack-lustre, yet I felt that the images of a random girl; the forest; an exam; and the Inquisitorial Squad had to do with something. Then, there was the vision that plagued me whenever I went to sleep. A huge army of monsters, all surrounding one shadowy figure, and surrounding another figure that was encompassed in a blinding light, as if the sun had appeared on Earth and they were all talking in hushed whispers. After this point, I felt that it was time to sleep. I turned the knife back into a bead and clipped it back to my necklace. Concluding that I was sufficiently spooked, I lay down again, only this time I had managed to drift into Morpheus' realm. However, as most demigods must suffer, dreams plagued me again. This time it was the same exact dream of the army in the forest. At least I thought..._

" _My lord. The day of the attack is almost upon usssssssss. When will your two brothersssssss … arrive?" One dracanae hissed. A metallic, rumbling voice was the one that responded._

" _Those two fools aren't coming. Our 'leader'," he spat, indicating this leader was someone he despised heartily. "Wishes to keep our third on hand. As for the fourth? He is a disgrace. Those wretched demigods changed him and he escaped from our leader. He's disappeared, not even he can find him… this is a dire situation; he may come for us…" the figure warned._

" _But my lord… how can our leader not find him?" Another dracanae responded, with worry creeping into her malicious tone._

" _I don't know, he has always been the timid and odd one. He may have changed himself while he was there," the figure replied._

" _But my lord, what is our plan from now till the day?"_

" _Patience. Patience. We attack when we are commanded, and I will crush Jason Grace to a paste… But wait. We have company don't we?" the figure cackled_

 _At this point, my vision blurred and I zoomed in onto the figure's face, still cloaked in shadows. Try as you may demigod, you will never be able to defeat me… We will rule again, not even you know what we have planned!" He screeched, this arms like acid, burning through the skin on my shoulders. I tried to open my mouth to scream, but found I couldn't…_

" _Piper. Piper. Piper!" I heard a voice scream. After one last look at the shadowy structure situated before me, my dream faded, being replaced by Hazel's clammy face."_

"Piper. Piper. Piper!" I heard a voice scream, and this wrenched me from the folds of the past and catapulted me back into the present. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes, determined to remove the drowsiness that was infecting me. I shifted my head, and saw Hazel, her eyes sympathetic, as if she understood my plight. After sighing deeply, I plucked up my Potions notes and shoved them hastily into my bag, determined not to be late to my Potions written examination.

Hazel and I ran towards the Great Hall for breakfast and saw Jason and Ron indicate themselves at the Gryffindor table, and we both sauntered towards the group.

"What took you so long?" Annabeth inquired.

"I just dozed off while going over my Potions notes," I replied, and to no one's surprise Annabeth and Hermione both had scandalized facial expression present, as if it was unbelievable that anyone could fall asleep when reading the monotonous and boring notes that they had inscribed. Decided that it would've been pointless to argue, I conceded and began to wolf down my breakfast, which was difficult with Hermione constantly knocking cups and plates about, shaking with nervousness. I decided to use a bit of charmspeak and soothe her nerves, and immediately noticed a slight relaxation in her posture and a reduction in her jumpiness.

After a quick breakfast we lined up outside the Potions Classroom and entered, ready for our theoretical examination. Potions was never my thing, but this went horribly. I got horribly confused on the question about the Draught of Peace and the Draught of Living Death. The only question I seemed to have done well on was about Polyjuice Potion, having just skimmed over the notes before I entered the classroom. However, it was all in all, terrible. Our practical was in the afternoon and it wasn't as bad as I thought. Without Snape peered over my shoulder and rubbing his greasy hair near my face, I was much more confused. Neville and Harry, who seemed to hate Snape as well as Potions looked at great ease, as if they had never had such an enjoyable lesson in this dungeon. Sure, my Draught of Peace wasn't as good as it could've been but it definitely wasn't bad.

I took a moment to look around the classroom, Jason had somehow managed to make his Potion issue dark red steam from his cauldron, and he was frantically trying to douse the steam with his robe, but was failing magnificently. Instead of the shimmering silver vapour that the cauldron was supposed to be emitting, mine and many other people was issuing a thick cloud of billowing silver steam. Hermione, Annabeth and Percy's however, were all perfect and were simmering with the steam. I sighed, knowing that they were just gifted at potions and tried to stem the flow with my robe, and much like Jason it didn't accomplish much.

All in all, I was heartily relieved when Professor Marchbanks instructed us to,

"Step away from your cauldrons please. This examination has now concluded." I wiped the sweat that was clinging to my brow and filled my flask to the brim with the solution and labelled it with my name. I had no delusions of passing well, but with luck had clinched an 'Acceptable'.

After leaving the room, Hermione immediately ran up to Ron and Harry and started pestering them about how they think they did, and Annabeth mirrored her. Ron sighed exasperatedly and explained that they had already done the test once and didn't want to go through it again. Percy again replied with the same thing and Hermione and Annabeth both turned away with equally annoyed looks. They both smiled and walked forward together and began chatting loudly about how glad there was someone else who cared about this stuff as much as them.

 **TIMESKIP**

We

 **Leo:**

Today was the day for the Care of Magical Creatures test. Harry, Ron and Hermione really liked Hagrid, but I certainly was very cautious around him. He was half-giant and I had had some bad experiences with his friends. I knew he was talking about Wizarding Giants, but how different could they be? Anyways, I was walking down in the general direction of Hagrid's hut for the Practical examination. Despite this, Hagrid had invited us to his hut right after the Care of Magical Creatures practical. We stopped right on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and our examiner began to call our names.

When my name was called, I walked forward, not nervous at all. We were given 3 tasks. Identify a Knarl hidden in a clump of hedgehogs; demonstrate the proper handling of the bowtruckle; clean and feed a Fire Crab without getting burned (HAHA) and construct a diet to feed to a sick unicorn.

For the knarl, I had no idea what to do, and we were given a huge assortment of foods and objects. What I did, was chuck random objects at the hedgehogs, and hoped something would happen. After a few minutes, one of the hedgehogs jumped at me, and I fiddled my wand and barely managed to use a freezing charm before it skewered me. I turned to the teacher, and she gave me a brief nod, before gesturing for me to go on. I easily handled the bowtruckle as I was used to holding and fiddling with delicate items and easily completed the task. The next task was to not get burned, and being immune to heat, I took no real care as I cleaned and fed the crab. It got irritated at times and seemed to burn my skin, but I obviously sustained no burns. The diet? I had no idea, I just randomly chucked some food together and hoped it wasn't too bad.

After waiting for everyone else, and quickly leaving the assessment and walking to Hagrid's hut, which was nearby.

I knocked on the door, and before long the door was opened, to reveal Hagrid's hulking body. He smiled his smile and gestured us in with the words,

"Yeh've remembered where I live!" He exclaimed, before chuckling and ushering us in before running into his kitchen to prepare some tea.

Hermione, Harry and Ron sank into three comfy armchairs by the fireplace, while Hagrid's was about thrice their size. The rest of us just awkwardly stood about until I decided to do something and waved my wand attempting to conjure seven chairs for us, and instead managed to get seven pot plants, and smashed them onto the floor, spilling soil and dirt over the carpet on the floor of Hagrid's Hut. I looked towards my friends, giving them a sheepish grin before Annabeth and Piper gave exasperated sighs and muttered some words under their breath while waving their wands and the soiled floor and the cracked pots were replaced with seven chairs, made of deep mahogany wood, and well-constructed beams, and looked very appealing and we all collapsed into them.

After five minutes of silence, Hagrid's burly frame burst into view and he hustled about, pouring us each a cup of tea, before pouring himself a generous amount and beginning to drain his cup. After putting his cup down with a loud clunk, before wiping the tea from his surrounding lips, and beginning to talk.

"So, how was yer examination?" **(I can't do an English accent, please enjoy my pitiful attempt)** There was a general murmur of assent, determined to show Hagrid that we did well, even if that was far from the truth."

"That's good. With Umbridge as Headmaster, I know my days 'ere are numbered. I expect to be gettin' the sack soon," Hagrid mumbled, with his eyes crinkling and huge droplets of water leaking from his eyes.

"Come on Hagrid, Umbridge can't blame you. You haven't done anything wrong!" I exclaimed, before Hermione cut across me.

"Come on Leo. Do you really believe that old hag will wait for evidence? She's so evil, she might as well have come down and sacked Hagrid now. You know she thinks she's been putting Nifflers in her office."

"Yeah, that's true," I replied. After this, an awkward silence erupted around us, before Hagrid spoke up again.

"Well, before I have to go, I made contact with Dumbledore last night. He told me your story… demigods," he said, pointing his gargantuan index finger in our direction. Percy and Piper gasped, as if they had no idea about this, yet I believed that they all had a sneaking suspicion that they knew.

"What did you want to tell us?" Hazel asked, clearly intrigued.

"Well Dumbledore wanted me to tell you that you need to follow your own path. You are the only defense that Hogwarts has. Harry, Hermione and Ron need to help you, but you can't allow yourself to be revealed to the rest of Hogwarts. You ten and your friends have to defend Hogwarts. It is vital that the next generation of wizards is preserved. You-Know-Who is rising and these wizards are the only hope. You have to help 'em!" Hagrid exclaimed.

Everyone was speechless after this, and then it hit me, if Umbridge or the Ministry caught wind that there were powerful demigods running around the world, they may take action especially in this current climate if they thought we were a threat…

 **Done. Cool finished. Whatever. Took me a while, it's been a hectic few weeks. Hope you enjoy. Next chapter will probably the conclusion of the OWLS. It might take longer than one or two weeks as I have to think clearly about a certain plotline that'll be very important later on. Guess what it'll be.**

 **~RedGods**


	28. Prophecies and Predictions

**Chapter 28: Leo**

8\. Name all of Jupiter's Moons.

Uhhhhh… ADHD! It was great in battle, but 99% of the time was infringing on my totally important education. I inhaled deeply, before slightly exhaling. My hand was shaking, quivering under pressure. I gently bent over and began scribbling onto the piece of paper. _What was the name of Jupiter's moons…_

I had read those notes yesterday. I racked my brain, scratching my head slightly. I knew Callisto was one. Oh, it sounded a lot like Calypso. I hated leaving her at Camp Half-Blood. If only this damn quest would finish. My mind wandered, fixating on the multiple details that I had come to love about Calypso, how her eyelids flickered whenever she was annoyed. The awkward twiddling of fingers in prolonged moments of silence. How she adjusted her caramel hair whenever she was nervous. A prime example when we were on Ogygia, days on days of silence between us, simply the clanking of metal.

"Holy Hera," I cursed, chiding myself for getting distracted again. What were the other names. There was Io and Ganymede. I acknowledged my thoughts and my hand twitched before moving across the page. Thebe? Was that one? Amalthea? Anake? Eventually, my mind blurred, my hands sporadically being possessed with illogical surges of urgency. I went through the other questions.

14\. What about Venus, dictates its abnormally hot conditions.

A. The Surface

B. The Atmosphere

C. The Organisms

D. Its Orbit.

I rushed and circled A, before hurriedly whizzing through the remainder of the paper, confident in my ability to fail and be berated by Annabeth for my poor results.

Do you want to know how it went overall? Terrible. No other words could describe it. My body felt inflamed and was overcome with momentary spasms and feelings of increased body temperature and other times of no feeling in my extremities. I was worried about what was happening to me. I dismissed these momentary conditions, despite it impeding my ability to write with a quill. In my opinion, pens were much more effective.

If I thought things would become less stressful after the exam, I was most definitely wrong. Immediately, I was besieged with inquiries into my answers, which I shrugged off and Annabeth and Hermione went to bother Jason, who was strutting with an annoying smug expression of superiority. He began to recite his questions, which irritated me to no end. After checking behind my back to make sure that no one was trailing us, I summoned a flame determined to scare Jason with a little heat.

I thrust my hand out and summoned a tiny crackling spark, which ignited to form a tiny speck of flame in the centre of my palm. After this, I felt a chill emanate from behind me and I spun around. I peered into the empty hallway behind me. Empty. I turned back around, to face the rest of the demigods and wizards, who were all merrily chatting except for the academics, who were talking in hushed tones. I ran behind Jason, my feet making tiny sounds, though, they echoed throughout the corridor. Just before I was about to plunge my tiny embers into Jason's bag, I felt another sensation in my body. It filled me up and my breathing turned shallow. Panicking, as if the flames were snuffing out my supply of oxygen, I extinguished my flame and looked down at my hand. My hands were shaking, and I turned my view onto the rest of my skin. My knees where experiencing seemingly small convulsions. These horrible senses were overwhelmed when I felt a surge of heat overtake my body and power began to course through my veins. This surge of strength was immediately juxtaposed with a chill feeling coalescing in my fingertips. After a few more seconds of panic, I managed to get my emotions and control my flight response, rooting my feet firmly into the floor. I realised that during my panic-attack, I had slipped behind the group of my friends. Shaking off my discomfort, I put on a fake grin and ran up behind them. I wrapped my hands around Hazel and Ron, engaging in fast conversation, steering the topic as far away from exams as possible.

Our Astronomy Practical would have to wait and this afternoon's revision would be devoted to Divination.

 **Frank:**

"What is all this garbage! It doesn't make any sense!" I almost screamed, sitting in the courtyard, surrounded my friends. My outburst had caught the attention of many passers-by , but I turned and glared at them, at which they gasped at and averted their eyes.

"C'mon Frank. It's difficult for all of us, but we'll be fine," Hazel soothed. I was sorely tempted to lash out in anger, but it diffused once I peered into the startling gold that was present in Hazel's eyes. In addition to the soothing arm that was placed on my shoulder, I calmed down and hung my head.

"Sorry for the outburst," I apologized.

"It's alright Frank," Percy sympathized, "I don't get anything either, but you don't see it weighing me down!" Percy exclaimed. This was returned by a sharp blow to the head delivered by Annabeth of course,

"You don't get anything do you Seaweed Brain," she breathed out in exasperation.

"But you still love me anyway?" Percy spoke, his tone lathered with surprise. Despite this, I could clearly tell that he was joking. Annabeth turned a faint pink before punching his arm and whispering something in his ear that was lost in the wind. Percy also turned a faint pink before the two kissed. I looked at the wizards, who looked clearly bewildered and kept opening and closing their mouth at odd intervals, clearly struggling to comprehend and provide input on the conversation.

Piper and Jason looked sympathetic as if they knew all about their intimate moments. Hazel grinned, while Leo had thrown his head back and was shaking with laughter. He put on his signature grin, yet I couldn't help but notice slight changes in his face. His eyebrows looked scrunched up and he had dark circles under his eyes, that exaggerated his appearance and made him look exceptionally tired. Leo saw me staring at him and ceased his laughing before sticking his tongue out at me. The Latino then went on to pick up a rock before slightly scraping the rock onto the cobbles and within seconds, he appeared to have carved a small object. He threw it, and with lightning quick speed, Percy snatched it out of the air.

He tilted his head downwards and presumably read what was written on the stone, before giving to Annabeth who looked and snickered, before slipping it into her pocket. I looked curiously at Leo, who shrugged and sidled up to Hermione and began to ask a few questions.

Despite his flirtatious interactions with Hermione being nothing more than usual and Ron's crimson face in response being perfectly normal, I couldn't help but notice that his arms kept twitching, shaking and his face struggled to stay the same, as if he were being antagonized by an invisible force. I dismissed this as his ADHD, but I was determined to inquire what was happening, and if anything was wrong.

I began pouring over my Divination Notes again, trying to remember what was the proper interaction and the consequences if Venus was in the 6th House. The rest was a blur, constantly interacting with Hazel, as she seemed to have a decent grasp on the subject and confirming with the others about what would happen under different circumstances.

After a decent amount of time passed, Ron swore and began to exclaim,

"Guys! Divination's in 10 minutes and we need to get to the North Tower! At these words, everyone sprung up, completely discarding the need to drop off our bags in our respective common rooms and began to just book it up staircases, determined not to be late to the North Tower. We charged past Sir Cadogan, who attempted to charge towards us on his fat gray pony and challenged Percy to a duel. He snorted and talked down to him, ('If you knew what I'd done, you'd be scared to challenge me,') before continuing to run, leaving the knight with a blank expression displayed on his visage. We all laughed haughtily, agreeing whole-heartedly with his statement: Percy was scary when he got angry.

My knees began to burn after continual sprinting, and the inflammation began to spread which was clearly affecting everyone else, with Ron and Hermione lagging behind, and Percy and Annabeth wheezing dangerously. Leo it seemed, was sprinting far ahead of everyone, either his ADHD had managed to overclock or he was really anxious for Divination. Anyways, after a painful ordeal, and several minutes of gathering our breath once we arrived at our destination we were called. Annabeth was called first out of all of us and grasped the ladder, hoisting herself upwards, her face clammy. Percy blew her a kiss, a favour which she returned, and I felt that it was a very cute gesture. One by one, each of my friends disappeared up the trapdoor. Soon, it was just me left and I was called up.

I was greeted by Professor Marchbanks. In my opinion, she wasn't that bad. She seemed nice and sympathetic when we conducted our Potions OWL, which I thought went well. She greeted me pleasantly, and gestured for me to sit down. I saw Professor Trelawny in the background, gazing into a crystal ball of her own, before staring at me and averting her eyes as they filled with tears and turned glassy upon seeing any of the Seven and Harry.

Professor Marchbanks cleared her throat and began assailing me with questions and assignments. I was meant to predict an all matter of things in a crystal ball, which I rapid-fired responses. I didn't see anything until right at the end, where I saw the silhouette of a tall figure standing under the cover of trees and beckoning to a tiny figure. My vision began to dull, and I saw flashes in the crystal ball. A girl in Slytherin robes. A dark figure shrouded in shadows. And a hideous donkey horse thing. I don't know what about it creeped me out, yet I knew it was a monster. I felt like I had learnt about them in monster class at Camp Jupiter. However, this scene creeped me out and I felt goosebumps erupt on my skin.

"Oh my, Zhang? Are you alright." Professor Marchbanks responded worriedly. These worlds anchored me and I fought down the sense of vertigo and regained my bearings. My throat was parched and I recognized this and looked towards her and nodded half-heartedly.

"Did you see anything my dear, you look disturbed," she responded. I imagined my face, a white sheet. Blank and disturbed by the scene that I had just witnessed. I shook my head and began to make up a random scenario that I had made up. The following test was horrible as I was far too stressed. I lost my head completely during tea-leaf reading, saying it looked to me as though Professor Marchbanks would shortly be meeting a round, dark, soggy stranger, and rounded off the whole fiasco by mixing up the life and head lines on her palm and informing her that she ought to have died the previous Tuesday.

Since I was the last person, she looked at me grimly before giving a half-hearted wave and descending down the trapdoor. I scoured my surroundings and saw Trelawney in her same position, yet again, however, I felt a strange sense beckoning me to follow her and go near her.

I shuffled awkwardly towards the professor, but she didn't acknowledge me. I was wondering what had made me enter this situation. I just decided to get her attention and I decided the best way to accomplish this was to lightly cough. I apparently startled her as the effects were her jumping out of the chair and staring at me, clearly disgruntled that I had interrupted her situation. I didn't know what to do, but I felt like someone was prodding my subconscious with a long stick and was forcing me to talk to her. Feeling obliged, I decided to ask a question.

"What were you doing?" I mentally facepalmed, that was such a horrible question, it was so open-ended and it didn't ask for a specific response.

"Well, I was just practicing and honing my inner eye child," she proclaimed. "What else would I be doi-" She cut herself off, as if she was revealing crucial information. I looked curiously towards her, with my eyebrow slightly raised in confusion. I couldn't help but realise that her posture was slightly off. Her face had gone gaunt, and her eyebrows were raised in an expression of constant surprise. Her back had gone rigid and he eyes were wide open. This was highly irregular and I noted that all of her mistiness and her regular attitude was gone. She drew a raspy breath, and continued on in a very different and croaky voice. I had only heard it once from her, it was when she recited all of the prophecies that were associated with us. I pondered whether Rachel would sound similar, Trelawney sounded more frog-like and croaky while apparently Rachel's was more snake-like. She began to speak, and it sent a chill down my spine.

 _The School of Magic the quest shall reign_

 _Shall purge a battle of mystery and strain_

 _The wizard of three's path will turn_

 _The God's plan the Seven learn_

 _With only the Piercer's skill_

 _Death and the secrets must spill_

 _With Ram and Light imminent fail_

 _And defeat the Pit to prevail_

My face went white, and I stared in disbelief at the Prophecy. I repeated it in my mind. I realised how odd I looked, staring at Trelawney in this manner, but I couldn't help it. She recited a prophecy I hadn't heard before and I knew it had something to do with the quest. So, I snapped myself out the trance with great effort and bolted for the trapdoor. Trelawny spluttered and came out of her real trance and spoke in a misty tone, chiding me about something that I didn't have the time to listen to. I sprang down the ladder and I flew across the floor. I ran past Sir Cadogan's portrait at which point I promptly collided into my group of friends who were talking enthusiastically.

"Ouch Frank! Watch where you're going next ti-!" Percy bellowed, before promptly looking upon my face, something that everyone else had picked up on. My face was white as a sheet and I was trembling from head to toe. "You're so pale Frank. What happened? The test can't have been that bad," Percy reasoned. I nodded my head frantically and managed to choke out a few words in spite of my chattering teeth.

"Trelawney – said – prophecy," I gasped out. Promptly, everyone else's face paled except for the wizards, who looked in confusion.

"What is so bad about a prophecy?" Ron asked. Annabeth turned around and gave him a steely glare.

"Well Ron, usually when a prophecy is recited. Especially When It ConCERNS US IT USUALLY IS BAD!" She screamed shrilly. The wizards also paled, whether it was from fear of Annabeth's rage or whether it was genuine fear about what the prophecy could hold I couldn't tell. Hazel, who was still scared, managed to pipe up and put her hand on my arm. It was warm, and I appreciated the concern and comfort.

"Guys. Let's tell McGonagall, she'll be able to tell us what to do," I said, knowing that the Transfiguration professor probably knew what to do in a scenario similar to this. Upon this pronouncement, Hermione strung together a sentence

"You guys don't know her. She scoffs at anything remotely related to Divination, she won't take Trelawney seriously!" she exclaimed.

"It's our best bet Hermione," Leo said, with complete seriousness, "If she knows, Dumbledore will eventually find out and that'll help. Besides, she knows we're demigods, we can convince her," Leo said. After a general murmur of assent and some walking, we managed to get into McGonagall's office.

"So tell me what happened again?" She inquired, her face obviously displaying doubt across every inch. I took in a deep breath and recited my story for what felt like the thousandth time.

"So, after I finished my Divination examination, I saw Trelawney doing something and I felt like I should find out. After going near her, we began talking and then she froze up. She recited a prophecy in a croaky tone. According to Harry, when she's also recited a prophecy, a similar process occurred two years ago, which adds credibility," I explained.

McGonagall's face drew taut as if she were trying to find a flaw in the statement. Finally, she exhaled deeply through her nose, clearly impatient.

"Well Zhang, what was this prophecy that she delivered," she asked. I cast my mind back and I grasped onto a few words that were clouding my head and began to deliver the prophecy again.

 _The School of Magic the quest shall reign_

 _Shall purge a battle of mystery and strain_

 _The wizard of three's path will turn_

 _The God's plan the Seven learn_

 _With only the Piercer's skill_

 _Death's secrets shall spill_

 _With Ram and Light imminent fail_

 _And defeat the Pit to prevail_

After saying this, I could immediately see Annabeth's brain working overtime to try and decipher its meaning, while McGonagall waved her hand dismissively.

"I know that all of you guys are demigods, and that makes me inclined to believe you, so I will try to inform Professor Dumbledore about this. The Order has ways of transporting messages. But now, I'm tired and it will be time for your Astronomy exam in a couple hours and I suggest you revise. I'll contact Dumbledore in the morning,"

"But Professor, don't you—" Jason began,

"Yes I do understand Grace. Right now, I want you out of my office and to begin revising. I told you that I'll communicate with Dumbledore in the morning and he'll send members of the Order here. Now, get out of my office. Revise!" She said. Her voice was laced with frustration and I knew things could turn ugly if we continued to argue, so I grabbed Jason's hand, ignoring his protests and dragged him out, with the rest following. The Golden Trio were waiting outside, their expressions anxious. After the door was slammed behind us, Harry asked us,

"How did it go?"

"Poorly," Annabeth responded. "She took a lot of convincing, but she just told us that she'd talk to Dumbledore and we'd better hurry with our revising for the Astronomy Exam," Annabeth sighed out. Hermione tutted, while Ron acted surprised. We stood there in an awkward silence, which Hazel promptly puctured.

"Let's go up to the Hufflepuff Common Room, I bet that we'll have an empty common room. There may be a few, but we'll be fine, so we can discuss and decipher the prophecy," she reasoned. Percy and Annabeth shrugged, Jason and Piper looked at each other and nodded. The rest of us muttered a faint "Yes," except Leo, who's body stiffened up and his eyes rolled up into the back of his head before he regained his composure before responding with a loud

'YUP!'

We began to descend down to the Hufflepuff Common Room and I caught up to Leo, who was determined to stay far behind everyone else. I found this especially odd as Leo usually liked to be the centre of attention.

"Leo—" I said, but Leo's eyes snapped up and he looked startled, before calming down and letting me continue. "Leo, what's wrong with you. You've been acting very weird." I responded. Upon these words, Leo turned around and put on a strained smile,

"What are you talking about Frank? I'm perfectly fine," Leo said, with a nervous laugh.

"You can't fool me Leo. I know that something's off. You look really tired, and I noticed that you've been having those weird spasms at different points. Talk to me, I know something is wrong," I said, putting compassion and understanding in my voice. Leo sighed deeply before reciting his anecdote.

"It started a couple days ago, with maybe a slightly twitching hand or shaking knees. I just put it down to my ADHD, but in the last 24 hours, it has become so much worse. In the Astronomy exam, I was day-dreaming and my body was overcome by a convulsion. It felt like my body felt inflamed and was overcome with momentary spasms and feelings of increased body temperature and other times of no feeling in my extremities. I felt illogical senses of urgency. Also, these were juxtaposed with surges of power and when I tried to summon a flame these were increased 10-fold. I felt like my fire was snuffing out my oxygen, and I kept feeling horrible. I just don't know what's happening. I feel like I'm going insane!" Leo laughed. "I don't know what's wrong with me. Also, we have an epic death battle soon and I won't be able to do anything. I'm just so messed up right now Frank. I can't even do anything about it!" Leo shouted. I was about to respond before I walked headfirst into a wall. Percy and Piper began laughing and Annabeth looked like she was about to burst out. However, Leo began to laugh uncontrollably. His boyish grin shone through and I felt like he was completely back to normal. He looked so lively, it was almost impossible to believe that he was so moody a minute ago. I rubbed my head in pain before Hazel patted my head and walked into the Common Room. It was completely empty and we all plopped our bags down that we had been carrying for a long time. We sat in an awkward circle of ten and we sat down in silence before I slowly recited the prophecy.

" _The School of Magic the quest shall reign_

 _Shall purge a battle of mystery and strain_

 _The wizard of three's path will turn_

 _The God's plan the Seven learn_

 _With only the Piercer's skill_

 _Death's secrets shall spill_

 _With Ram and Light imminent fail_

 _And defeat the Pit to prevail"_

"So what does it mean?" Percy questioned, scratching his head.

"Well 'The school of magic' is probably Hogwarts, what other magic school could it be?" Jason asked.

"Unless Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter is considered Magical its definitely Hogwarts," Piper replied.

"So it basically says that we'll go to Hogwarts in that line," Leo confirmed.

"'Shall purge a battle of mystery and strain' does that mean that we'll just have a stressful battle?" Annabeth asked.

"Probably," Piper replied, unless there's some hidden meaning.

"Battle could mean anything though," Percy said, with a frown on his face.

"It could mean just a struggle, or something that happens at Hogwarts other than this big battle that's happening tomorrow," Jason theorized.

"'The wizard of three's path will turn', what does that mean? Three wizards could refer to anyone," Hermione said, with Ron nodding beside her.

"I think it might refer to you three," Percy said, "But it might also refer to anyone else."

"Hey, it could be Dumbledore?" Leo input.

"Dumbledore's three wizards, isn't he?" Piper responded, smirking slightly. Leo scratched his head in embarrassment before replying,

"Yeah, I guess so."

"'The God's plan the Seven shall learn'," I recited, "What does that mean?"

"It's kind of obvious isn't it?" Hermione asked, drawing odd looks from everyone around. After sighing heavily, she elaborated, "You guys are the seven demigods right, it just means you have to find out… whatever the gods' plan is," She finished awkwardly. There was a few nods going about and a general consensus that she was right. However, I wondered what this plan was, whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"'With only the Piercer's skill'" Jason asked, "Who's the piercer?"

When no one responded, Jason shrugged before continuing to read the next line, "'Death's secret's shall spill,' he said. Annabeth voiced the question we were wondering,

"Who is Death?" "It could be Thanatos or maybe Hades?" she asked, before answering her own question. Ron replied, almost shaking.

"Or it could b- be t-thh… the grim." This was followed by a resounding shout in protest, delivered by Hermione.

"Oh shut up Ron, this Grim stuff is nonsense, we've already shown that the Grim isn't an omen of death, simply a cause demonstrated by the fact that Harry hasn't decided to kick the bucket yet."

"It'll happen any day now," Harry muttered jokingly. Percy snorted loudly at this, before directing our conversation back towards the prophecy.

"'Any clue what Ram and Light mean?" he asked.

"No clue Perce," Jason said, "Why would they randomly reference an animal and light in a prophecy. Seems a bit odd right?" he reasoned.

"No clue Jason," Percy replied. My eyes were diverted by a noise that had erupted from Ron's back. It was clearly a slap from Hermione as she was currently glaring daggers at the former, who was glaring equally back. Piper squawked and cupped her hand near her heart, and feigned falling down. Putting on a falsetto,

"Oh I'm so in lo— mmmmm" Piper squeaked. Her sentence was cut off my Jason cutting off her sentence by cutting across and placing her hand on her mouth, muffling her voice. Piper sat up and looking mildly annoyed at Jason. Who tried to defend himself,

"Pipes, I was simply saving you from doing something a little out of character for you." Piper seemed miffed and shrugged before staring back towards the centre of the circle. Ron and Hermione's feuding had ceased after Piper's half-sentence had been formed and Ron had turned a faint crimson while Hermione seemed indifferent. Determined to keep the conversation from straying again, cracked my knuckles before clearing my throat. Yet, I couldn't feel guilty about trying to decipher the prophecy, but not tell them about my previous vision during the exam. I would tell them sometime soon.

"So what does 'defeat the Pit to prevail mean'?" Annabeth looked like she had a thought but didn't want to share and I could almost see her brain working on different options than the one that she was thinking about.

"A pit. How hard can a pit be to beat?" Hazel snorted. She pulled out her wand and flicked it a little enthusiastically in frustration due to being unable to decipher this prediction. Instead of her intent, it clearly created something different as a huge plume of fire erupted from her wand's tip. She wasn't aiming it in any particular direction and the fire cascaded across the room, punctured by our shrill screams. Leo, being Leo and having Leo's luck had got the fire stream all to himself, as Hazel's wand managed to turn on him. The flames consumed him, the heat not harming him, despite Leo's eyes flickering between pain and his regular expression. I was wondering how a fire could harm him.

Leo's eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he thrust his hands outward, dispelling the fire before collapsing to the ground, covered in a black layer of soot. Almost as soon as he hit the ground, a resounding

"Ouch!" erupted through the room. I breathed a sigh of relief and the same was given for everyone else and Hazel, being clearly sorry for the fiasco had rushed to Leo's aid and pulled him up.

Leo got up coughing and spluttering, before grinning widely and saying,

"That was awesome."

 **Jason:**

Why does this always happen? We end up charging through the castle, sprinting towards a set of stairs, determined not to be late for a specific deadline. This time, it was almost midnight and we were meant to be up in the Astronomy Tower. The exam starts in five minutes and my limbs were on fire. Sprinting seemed to be the theme of today. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of sprinting we arrived, and rushed inside the classroom, only to see that the exam had appeared to begin, with people already noting on their star charts. Cursing, I dropped my bag and rushed to the nearest telescope and peered into the depths, recognizing stars and constellations dotted across the night sky.

We were expected to spend a really long time on our star charts, but I rushed through it. Some thing of being a son of Jupiter, I just knew about the stars and the skies. It was really cool. I jotted down words that came to my head and I somehow knew they were right. I just kept scribbling down shapes and labelling different stars that were shown across the night sky.

Soon, I had managed to finish, it was a good deal ahead of everyone else and I used my telescope to peer into the forest. I thought I saw a flicker of silver, but dismissed it and just lay down. I took a minute to gather my thoughts and it hadn't been till now that I had realised how worried I had been these past few days. We were really high up, I decided that a prayer to my dad would be great here.

 _So, uh hey dad. I know you know this but there's supposed to be this huge invasion thing of this school tomorrow. So uh, could you like send us help or atleast tell us what to do? That'd be great. Thanks._

I saw lightning flash across the sky and I smiled in appreciation, I guess my dad had heard my prayer. I gazed into the sky, before another flash of lightning was present, followed swift by the boom of thunder.

I heard the small pattering of footsteps. I peered down and saw there were lights on in Hagrid's windows and the people I had observed crossing the lawn were now silhouetted against them. The door opened and I distinctly saw six sharply defined figures walk over the threshold. The door closed again and there was silence.

I felt very uneasy. I glanced around to see whether Percy, Piper, Annabeth or anyone for that matter had noticed what he had, but Professor Marchbanks came walking behind me at that moment and, not wanting to look as though I was sneaking looks at anyone else's work, I hastily bent over my star-chart and pretended to be adding notes to it while really peering over the top of the parapet towards Hagrid's cabin. Figures were now moving across the cabin windows, temporarily blocking the light.

I could feel Professor Marchbanks's eyes on the back of my neck and pressed my eye again to my telescope, staring up at the moon, but as Professor Marchbanks moved on, I heard a roar from the distant cabin that echoed through the darkness right to the top of the Astronomy Tower. Several of the people around Harry ducked out from behind their telescopes and peered instead in the direction of Hagrid's cabin.

Professor Tofty gave another dry little cough.

'Try and concentrate, now, boys and girls,' he said softly.

Most people returned to their telescopes. I looked slightly to my left. However, none of the demigods and Harry and Hermione had listened and were now staring intently at Hagrid's Cabin.

'Ahem-twenty minutes to go,' said Professor Tofty.

Hermione jumped and returned at once to her star-chart; Harry looked down at his own and noticed something that I couldn't see. He bent to correct it. The rest of the demigods, Annabeth included continued to stay resolutely at the half-giant's cabin.

There was a loud BANG from the grounds. Several people cried 'Ouch!' when they poked themselves in the face with the ends of their telescopes as they hastened to see what was going on below.

Hagrid's door had burst open and by the light flooding out of the cabin they saw him quite clearly, a massive figure roaring and brandishing his fists, surrounded by six people, all of whom, judging by the tiny threads of red light they were casting in his direction, seemed to be attempting to Stun him.

Annabeth audibly gasped before muttering under her breath and everyone else seemed to have a scandalized expression on their face, directed at the scene unfolding directly below them. Tofty included, yet his disdain was directed at Annabeth who was still currently pressing her eye deeply against her telescope and muttered under her breath, presumably in disbelief.

"This is an examination my dear," Tofty voiced, expressing his exasperation.

Another bang was heard from below them and at this point, nobody was paying the slightest attention to their star-charts any more. Jets of red light were still flying about beside Hagrid's cabin, yet somehow they seemed to be bouncing off him; he was still upright and still, as far as I could see, fighting. Cries and yells echoed across the grounds; a man yelled, 'Be reasonable, Hagrid!'

Hagrid however, didn't seem to be responding in a positive manner, roaring in response.

'Reasonable be damned, yeh won' take me like this, Dawlish!'

I could see the tiny outline of Fang, the dog's silhouette tiny in comparison with Hagrid's wide frame and even small compared to the wiry wizards attempting to defeat Hagrid, while the former was attempting to defendHagrid, leaping repeatedly at the wizards surrounding him until a Stunning Spell caught him and he fell to the ground. Hagrid gave a howl of fury, lifted the culprit bodily from the ground and threw him; the man flew what looked like ten feet and did not get up again. Hermione gasped, both hands over her mouth; I looked round at Ron and saw that he, too, was looking scared. Piper and Hazel looked worried, but the rest of us looked slightly nonchalant as if Hagrid would be find, he was atleast thrice the size of any of the wizards, and he'd been able to help a real giant. He'd be fine right?

None of us had ever seen Hagrid in a real temper before and usually he seemed to be slightly intimidating despite his calm and usually amicable demeanor. Now he was in a temper, he would definitely be scary and these wizards would definitely feel his waves of anger washing over them.

'Look!' squealed Parvati, who was leaning over the parapet and pointing to the foot of the castle where the front doors had opened again; more light was spilling out on to the dark lawn and a single long black shadow was now rippling across the lawn.

'Now, really!' said Professor Tofty anxiously. 'Only sixteen minutes left, you know!'

But nobody paid him the slightest attention: we were watching the person now sprinting towards the battle beside Hagrid's cabin.

'How dare you!' the figure shouted as she ran. 'How dare you!'

'It's McGonagall!' whispered Piper.

'Leave him alone! Alone,I say!' said Professor McGonagall's voice through the darkness. 'On what grounds are you attacking him? He has done nothing, nothing to warrant such-'

All the girls screamed. Shrill screams and I was tempted to shout is surprise as well. The figures around the cabin had shot no fewer than four Stunners at Professor McGonagall. Halfway between cabin and castle the red beams collided with her; for a moment she looked luminous and glowed an eerie red, then she lifted right off her feet, landed hard on her back, and moved no more, spread eagled on the soft grass.

'Galloping gargoyles!' shouted Professor Tofty, who also seemed to have forgotten the exam completely. 'Not so much as a warning! Outrageous behaviour!'

'COWARDS!' bellowed Hagrid; his voice carried clearly to the top of the tower, and several lights flickered back on inside the castle. 'RUDDY COWARDS! HAVE SOME O' THAT- AN' THAT-'

Hagrid took huge steps towards two of the assailants and shifted his stance and as a result, his fist came crashing down, colliding with both their skulls and they promptly dropped. Just like McGonagall mere moments ago.

'Get him, get him!' screamed a high-pitched female voice. It was the voice that belonged to that… hag Umbridge. However, her remaining helper seemed highly reluctant to go within reach of Hagrid's fists; indeed, he was backing away so fast he tripped over one of his unconscious colleagues and fell over, presumably out cold from head trauma. Hagrid bent over, and picked up a dark object and from its shape and size I assumed it was Fang. After lifting his trusty hound onto his shoulder, Hagrid had turned and begun to run with Fang still hung around his neck. Umbridge sent one last Stunning Spell after him but it missed by a great range; and Hagrid, running full-pelt towards the distant gates, disappeared into the darkness.

There was a long minute's quivering silence as everybody gazed open-mouthed into the grounds. Then Professor Tofty's voice said feebly, 'Um ... five minutes to go, everybody.'

This seemed quite a bad response, as no one seemed even close to be able complete anything. I and everyone else seemed to just be desperate for the exam to end so that we could discuss the scene that had just unfolded.

'That evil woman!' gasped Hermione, who seemed to be having difficulty talking due to rage. 'Trying to sneak up on Hagrid in the dead of night!'

'She clearly wanted to avoid another scene like Trelawney's,' said Piper, with Leo nodding sagely behind her.

'Hagrid did well, didn't he?' said Percy, who looked more alarmed than impressed. 'How come all the spells bounced off him?'

'It'll be his giant blood,' said Hermione shakily. 'Its very hard to Stun a giant, they're like trolls, really tough ... but poor Professor McGonagall ... four Stunners straight in the chest and she's not exactly young, is she?'

'Dreadful, dreadful,' said Leo, shaking his head pompously. Hazel smacked him on the arm due to his lack of tact.

Frank looked extremely frightened, I approached him to confront, but he stuck a hand out in front and the message was clear, _stop, I'll tell you later._

We crossed slowly, before splitting up the groups into houses and the six of us walked away. During the time, Percy tried to make small talk yet Frank still seemed slightly rattled, but was returning to being more social.

People around us were drifting away, still talking excitedly about what they had just seen.

'At least they didn't get to take Hagrid off to Azkaban,' said Percy. 'I expect he's gone to join Dumbledore, hasn't he?'

'I suppose so,' said Frank, who looked much better. 'Dumbledore's gone, but now Hagrid too? It's starting to look a lot worse."

"C'mon we'd better be getting up to bed," Ron explained.

 **Annabeth:**

I tossed and turned in by bed. My hand was scrunched up into a tight ball from stress. We had the weight of a prophecy on our heads. We had the weight of a battle on our heads. Worst of all, we had our final exams! Uh! This was not going to be a good day.

I threw on some robes and stretched. I locked my hands behind my head and paced around the room. My feet making a slight tapping sound on the creaking floorboards. I reached out to my bedside table and picked up my wand. I knew we would be fighting greek monsters and that magic might not be the best and the most useful ability against them, but it would be good to try and practice just in case. I aimed at one of the books that was resting on my table. It was a thick leather cased book and I knew it weighed a lot. I was quite enjoying the plot of the story, but I wouldn't need it for a while.

" _Stupefy!"_ I shouted, a jet of green light exploded out of my wand tip and my book was lifted up and slammed into the window. Behind me, I heard the unmistakable sound of clapping. I turned around and grabbed for the bead attached to my necklace that would summon my knife. I turned and saw the dark skin of Padma Patil standing in the doorway. She was already in full robes and sauntered up to me.

"Nice spell Annabeth!" She exclaimed. "Exam nerves? I find that just smacking an object with hexes and jinxes over and over again is a good way to relieve stress," she simpered. I nodded wearily and wiped my brow, relieving it of the condensation. I brandished my wand.

" _Diffindo!"_ I shouted. The book exploded in a flurry of pages, thrown out wildly in a wide field and slowly falling down towards the ground. The pages were scattered across the room, yet I clearly didn't care enough to pick them up. I felt my tensions ease, what Padma had said was really good. It helped. I smiled gratefully at Padma, who smiled back and we walked down to breakfast together, after scouring the common room for Leo, who appeared to have vanished. We had a quick breakfast and I ate at lightning speed, not seeing any of the seven in the breakfast room. I felt a knot of worry form in my chest and I cupped a fist to my heart. I ran up to the Gryffindor Common Room.

I saw that it was exceptionally quiet. Everyone was lying on the floor deep in revision for our History of Magic exam. I saw that Leo was twitching slightly on the ground, but I ignored it and walked on and plopped down next to Percy, and immediately gave him a quick kiss. He returned it and I sat down and entered the doom and gloom. I wondered momentarily why everyone was so melancholy, but this was quickly solved as Frank had an extremely distressed look on his face. However, smiled faintly in recognition once I sat down. While I sat down, after looking over some notes, Frank stood up and locked eyes with each of us. He send a wordless message that I interpreted just fine, _I need to talk about something._

We all abandoned our notes and followed Frank out and we emptied out into an empty classroom.

"Well, what did you want to talk to us about Frank?" I inquired.

"You know how we got the prophecy from Trelawney after my examination, right?" He asked and there was a unanimous response of 'Yes!' "Well, while gazing in the crystal ball I saw a vision. But when I went to bed last night, I got the full vision of what it was. It was well… creepy," he gulped after delivering this sentence.

"Tell us Frank. It might be important," Hazel soothed. Frank nodded and took in a deep breath before he started to recite the story.

 **Frank:**

 _I felt as if I was transported and was witnessing the scene unfold. In the Forest, I saw a stunningly pretty girl wade through armies of trees. I wasn't surprised when I saw her adorned in Slytherin Robes but was more surprised to encounter a figure wrapped in the shadows projected by the canopy of trees._

" _Hey, I've got some information for you!" She cackled. The figure turned slightly to the right and nodded, as if encouraging her to continue._

" _I've done my recon and intelligence work. I know that the Seven are there, and I feel like I can manipulate one of their friends!" She shouted. At this, the figure completely rotated as if giving her the full and undivided attention that she craved. I was also surprised how she knew this, I made a mental note to tell the rest, and track her down and make sure she didn't take anyone._

" _The demigods don't suspect that I'm there, and I am going to tell that hag Umbridge. That should make things more complicated!" She cackled. She began pacing round in circles and kept talking, "Once the wizards get wind of the demigods, we will walk unopposed and feast on wizards and we'll kill the demigods. Just leave Percy Jackson to me… she said, before turning her back on the dark object._

 _At this, he began to talk, his screeching voice responded,_

" _Good Work Kelli. Tell this mortal Umbridge tomorrow morning. That way, when we strike they'll have no defence." He screeched._

 _This Kelli smirked inwardly before cupping a hand to her dainty ear, as if listening for estranged bird calls. However, she turned directly to where my figure was positioned._

" _Oooooooooh," she taunted, "We have a little visitor. Enjoy this." At this, the beautiful figure of the Slytherin girl faded, and was replaced with a hideous_ _image._ _The previously pretty woman was now covered completely white skin. The disturbing image was concluded with flaming hair of the purest red, striking terror into my heart, small fangs, that were clearly visible from her vicious smile one bronze leg and one donkey leg, and red eyes that stared deep into my soul, shattering my confidence. My nose picked up the distinct odour of decaying flesh and I fought down the urgency to gag as bile began to rise._

 _She smiled and lashed towards me, her claws tearing through my fragile skin like paper and my vision shut out._

 **Annabeth:**

"So, that's what happened," Frank concluded, awkwardly. At this point I expected that I was trembling from head to toe. I looked at Percy, and his expression was mingled with fear and anger. Yet, he was also trembling. Our last encounter with Kelli in Tartarus was anything but pleasant. We would've died if Bob hadn't come to our aid. This time we didn't have a titan walking about.

Jason looked at us, and his brow creased.

"Annabeth, Percy, what's wrong you look like you've seen a ghost." That much was true, we both looked pale. Since I probably looked horrible and as if I wasn't going to ever go into the story, Percy explained.

"So basically, Kelli is an empousa, she is basically the Greek equivalent of a vampire," he explained, gaining odd glances from Hermione and Harry. "A couple years ago, she was disguised as a cheerleader at my highschool. She almost killed me, but I was saved by my friend Rachel. She also tracked us across the labyrinth, and tried to kill me again but Annabeth killed her," he said, shooting me an approving glance.

"Also, on our last quest, when we were in well… you know. Anyway, she tried to kill me again, but this time we were only saved by the Titan Bob. Oh, she's also obsessed with killing me and Annabeth, so we need to find her and stop her," he informed, his voice increasing in volume from his passion.

This was universal. All nine of us shouted in response. Nine? Wait Nine? I turned around and realised the absence of a certain red-headed boy. I voiced my concerns.

"Where's Ron?" Hermione turned around and looked angry, "Where are you Ronald Weasley!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, but I knew it was useless. We went back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and Hermione was constantly fiddling with her robes and was acting self-conscious in Ron's absence. Once entering the Common Room, we went straight to Dean Thomas, who was seen as like a good starting point.  
"Where's Ron, Dean?" Jason asked, his startling blue eyes staring deep into Dean's own dark brown eyes. He responded quickly,

"Dunno Jason. We thought he was off with you lot." After questioning more around the room, we heard the portrait hole open and Harry's fourth year admirer Colin Creevy crawl into the room. Harry had entertained us with stories of Colin's obsession with him over the years. Percy was fond of those and struggled to keep a straight face when Colin was in the room. A problem that had risen during multiple revision sessions. He brushed a slight amount of dust off of his precious camera and off his shoulders, yet the rest of his robes were still caked in a thin layer of grime. He made eye-contact with Harry and approached him.

Before Colin could even begin to form a sentence, Harry, almost aggressively asked him,

"Colin, have you seen my friend Ronald Weasley?" Colin breathlessly responded,

"Your tall friend? The one with the read hair yeah?" Colin's hyperactive voice pierced the untouched silence in the Common Room.

"Yes, him."

"Oh, I saw him walking off with some Slytherin girl. I think they said something about Umbridge," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "Oh yeah, I got a picture here," he concluded. He wiped off the dust of the camera and smacked the camera twice and a small piece of film emerged. It was a picture of Ron and a Slytherin girl on his arm, with the same blond hair that was clearly described by Frank. However, what caught me were the piercing and bright blue eyes. When I saw Kelli she was disguised as an African American girl, before revealing her true form. Despite her hair style, colour and eye colour may have changed, her eyes were still as cold and merciless as I remember. That's when it hit me that Ron was in danger and Kelli was involved. She was going to tell Umbridge now. As a team, we seamlessly, began scouring the castle. We had several hours until our History of Magic test and we realised this took priority, as if she informed Umbridge and if Ron backed it all up and snitched on us, this would heavily impede our ability to defend the school.

For hours and hours we looked.

Nothing. We found nothing. We even checked Umbridge's office. We got Frank to turn into tiny animals and sneak into the Slytherin Common Room to see if she brought him in there. Nothing. Ron wasn't anywhere. Hermione, who probably would've found a solution in 10 seconds and told us to use the MARAUDER'S MAP! Her judgement was flawed and she was worried sick about Ron. Only about five minutes before the exam did Harry think about the Marauder's Map. He cursed, and ran, but I stopped him. Informing it was five minutes until the exam and it would be best if we looked for him there.

So it was time and we wandered into forum of the Entrance Hall and we were searched aimlessly for Ronald Weasley.

Finally, after about five minutes of searching we found Ron, sitting in a corner his eyes blank and staring into a corner.

"Ron! Ron! Ron!" We all shouted, but it had no effect on him. Finally, Hermione unable to take it anymore, wound her hand backwards and unleashed her full might on his cheek. This clearly got his attention and he sprung up with a loud scream due to the pain he felt. I couldn't blame him, if I got hit that hard, it would hurt like anything.

"Woah, calm down Hermione. What you hit me for?" He questioned. Hermione was glaring daggers and before a repeat could occur, Harry so cleverly stepped in.

"Chill Hermione, let Ron talk." Hermione didn't look happy, but crossed her arms and let Ron monologue. At least we thought.

"What did I do wrong guys?" He so eloquently asked. This, Hermione had a tough time not smacking him again.

"What did you do wrong? You went and did… god knows what with a goddamn vampire Ronald!" Hermione shrilly screamed.

"Hermione, what are you on about, I didn't do anything, I certainly wasn't doing anything with a vampire of all things."

"Yes you were Ron! Even Colin saw you with the girl that Frank described as a vampire on your ARM!"

"What? I don't remember anything? Show me proof. You're just making stuff up arent'cha!" Ron accused. Hermione puffed up and then brandished the picture that Colin had given her, and it clearly showed Ron walking, with Kelli on his arm.

"What Hermione? I swear that never happened," Ron defended, putting his hands upwards his palms thrust forwards in an expression of innocence.

"Well Ron the ph-" she began. I was just watching this battle of words wage between these two, before I decided that I should intervene before things got ugly.

"Hermione, you should know that empousae have the ability to charmspeak. That means they're able to manipulate people, the same way Piper can, but doesn't do," I explained. Hermione still looked suspicious but seemed to let it slide with a loud,

"Humph," and refused to talk to Ron, even as we walked into the Entrance Hall for our OWL.

 **Harry:**

I felt exhausted. After this exam, there was supposed to be some invasion of the school, and I was meant to defend it. Whatever, I had faced Voldemort before, it can't be much worse than that. I was more worried about Ron, and what he'd told Kelli that she would then pass on to Umbridge and make it exceptionally hard to protect this school that we all loved. Deep in thought, I was snapped out when I made out Professor Marchbanks' voice echoeing from the front.

I turned over my page and began to read. I stared fixedly at the beginning question and I stared at it for a few moments. I read it multiple times, but soon realised that it was not being taken in at all. There was light refracting through the great windows and the light buzzing of afternoon weather omnipresent, making it difficult to concentrate whatsoever. I sluggishly began to inscribe an answer.

History of Magic was so tedious, remembering all the dates required was difficult and annoying. For example, I simply skipped over number 4 (In your opinion, did wand legislation contribute to, or lead to better control of, goblin riots of the eighteenth century?), thinking that I would go back to it if I had time at the end. I had a stab at question five (How was the Statute of Secrecy breached in 1749 and what measures were introduced to prevent a recurrence?) but I had a nagging suspicion that I had missed several important points; I had a feeling that vampires, had come into the story somewhere. Oh vampires. That just got me all worried about Ron all over again.

I looked ahead for a question I could definitely answer and my eyes alighted upon number ten: Describe the circumstances that led to the formation of the International Confederation of Wizards and explain why the warlocks of Liechtenstein refused to join.

I know this, I thought, though my brain felt torpid and slack. I could visualise a heading, in Hermione's handwriting: The formation of the International Confederation of Wizards ... I had read those notes only this morning.

I began to write, looking up now and again to check the large hour-glass on the desk beside Professor Marchbanks. I was sitting right behind Piper, whose choppy brown hair was awfully distracting. She, just like him seemed to be completely blanking over this test. Once or twice I felt myself staring at the tiny golden lights that glistened in it when she moved her head slightly, and I gave my own head a little shake to clear it.

... the first Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards was Pierre Bonaccord, but his appointment was contested by the wizarding community of Liechtenstein, because-

All around myself, quills were scratching on parchment like scurrying, burrowing rats. The sun was very hot on the back of my head. What was it that Bonaccord had done to offend the wizards of Liechtenstein? I had a nagging sensation it had something to do with trolls ... I gazed blankly at the back of Piper head again. If I could only perform Legilimency and open a window in the back of her head and see what it was about trolls that had caused the breach between Pierre Bonaccord and Liechtenstein. But then I remembered, she looked as clueless as I did, that wouldn't be much help. Stupid...

I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands, so that the glowing red of my eyelids grew dark and cool. Bonaccord had wanted to stop troll-hunting and give the trolls rights ... but Liechtenstein was having problems with a tribe of particularly vicious mountain trolls ... that was it.

I opened my eyes; they stung and watered at the sight of the blazing white parchment. Slowly, I wrote two lines about the trolls, then read through what I had done so far. It did not seem very informative or detailed, yet I was sure Hermione's notes on the Confederation had gone on for pages and pages.

I closed my eyes again, trying to see them, trying to remember ... the Confederation had met for the first time in France, yes, I had written that already ...

Goblins had tried to attend and been ousted ... I had written that, too ...

And nobody from Liechtenstein had wanted to come ...

Think, he told himself, his face in his hands, while all around him quills scratched out never-ending answers and the sand trickled through the hour-glass at the front ...

 **(This is word for word from the books. I need to progress the plot. Thanks J.K.)**

He was walking along the cool, dark corridor to the Department of Mysteries again, walking with a firm and purposeful tread, breaking occasionally into a run, determined to reach his destination at last ... the black door swung open for him as usual, and here he was in the circular room with its many doors ...

Straight across the stone floor and through the second door ... patches of dancing light on the walls and floor and that odd mechanical clicking, but no time to explore, he must hurry ...

He jogged the last few feet to the third door, which swung open just like the others ...

Once again he was in the cathedral-sized room full of shelves and glass spheres ... his heart was beating very fast now ... he was going to get there this time ... when he reached number ninety-seven he turned left and hurried along the aisle between two rows ...

But there was a shape on the floor at the very end, a black shape moving on the floor like a wounded animal ... Harry's stomach contracted with fear ... with excitement ...

A voice issued from his own mouth, a high, cold voice empty of any human kindness ...

'Take it for me ... lift it down, now ... I cannot touch it ... but you can ...'

The black shape on the floor shifted a little. Harry saw a long-fingered white hand clutching a wand rise at the end of his own arm ... heard the high, cold voice say 'Crucio!'

The man on the floor let out a scream of pain, attempted to stand but fell back, writhing. Harry was laughing. He raised his wand, the curse lifted and the figure groaned and became motionless.

'Lord Voldemort is waiting ...'

Very slowly, his arms trembling, the man on the ground raised his shoulders a few inches and lifted his head. His face was bloodstained and gaunt, twisted in pain yet rigid with defiance ...

'You'll have to kill me,' whispered Sirius.

'Undoubtedly I shall in the end,' said the cold voice. 'But you will fetch it for me first, Black ... you think you have felt pain thus far? Think again ... we have hours ahead of us and nobody to hear you scream ...'

But somebody screamed as Voldemort lowered his wand again; somebody yelled and fell sideways off a hot desk on to the cold stone floor; Harry awoke as he hit the ground, still yelling, his scar on fire, as the Great Hall erupted all around him.

 **Finally. I do realise how long it took for me to push this chapter out. However, its super long, by far the longest I've written. Hope you enjoy it, I pushed forward many plotlines that I had begun and added a few and progressed it. Things are finally accelerating. I mean to finish the story in the next few chapters. Hope you enjoy it. Leave a review for your predictions and what improvements you think I can make. This story can do with a lot of those. Heh.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	29. Preceding Mayhem

**Chapter 29: Piper**

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Harry screamed. I spun around in my chair, facing directly behind me to see Harry's body falling towards the cold stone that adorned the floor of Hogwarts. His jet black hair flopped miserably in front of his face, obscuring it from view. His eyes were not visible and were shut tightly, his face scrunched up in fear or concentration, probably fear. His scream was one of pure terror, it was definitely fear. I didn't want to know what had spooked him, as it would probably scare me and we had a war on our hands. Nightmares were the least of our worries.

Harry hit the ground with a resounding thud and I heard an audible gasp erupt around the scene, myself included in that gasp. Almost instantly, two wizards swooped down and descended upon Harry's frame. One, Professor Marchbanks pulled out her wand, and muttered a few words under her breath.

Almost immediately, Harry's eyes snapped open, displaying his bright green irises, constrasting greatly with his pale and clammy face. He locked eyes with me, and I saw pure distress and worry emanating from him in waves. Forcefully, the witch and wizard hauled Harry up and almost roughly escorted him out of the Great Hall.

It appeared that he had dozed off during the exam, something that I had come very close to doing in the lazy heat filtering through the great windows.

Soon, the sounds of scuffling feet faded into the back and I presumed that Harry would be in the Hospital Wing. In a few hours at the earliest, we would be defending a massive castle from a never-ending siege by Voldemort and a few titans. I bent low over my paper, attempting to decipher this code and attempt these questions. The blank print was extremely trite and didn't grab my attention whatsoever. I forced myself to read the questions and read a few times, determined to saturate my brain with the question. After twice more times of reading the question through, I had a fair grasp on the question, (In 1753 what lead to the famous Goblin Rebellion). There was a goblin rebellion in the 1700s? What? I had no clue what this question was trying to get at. I thought that Hogsmeade had come into the story somewhere. Had the Goblins taken it over and used it as their headquarters? Or was it the wizards that did that? I scratched my head in confusion for a while before noting down the goblins taking over Hogsmeade and something about discrimination.

That was purposely vague, so they would probably mark it right as it had some general relevance to the topic.

"10 more minutes remaining!" Professor Marchbank's voice echoed across the ceiling and walls of the Great Hall. I looked up and saw the hourglass slowly running down and I realised I had two long questions, both detailing the need for several examples.

"Uhh…" I audibly complained, I was annoyed that I had become distracted. But, who could blame me, even Annabeth was probably even the slightest bit distracted. I began noting down several points down for each questions, but lacking explanation and elaboration of the questions, despite that being specifically called for in the question. I went pouring back over my answers, keen to prune out silly mistakes, before realizing I hadn't fully answered a single question. I brandished my quill, adding a sentence or two to my second answer, before a loud voice for the second time interrupted my train of thought,

"Time! Quills down." I felt dizzy and immediately abided by the instruction to lay my quill down. I didn't do it too soon, as immediately as my quill dropped to the ground, accompanied by many more, our paper's began to levitate into the air. I looked to the front and saw Professor Marchbanks' wand waving in front of her body, and the collective mass of the papers zoomed in her direction, before coming to a complete halt right in front of her and piling up into a large stack in front of her desk.

I felt a knot of tension release – we had done it. We had completed our OWLs, exams for wizards; which we weren't. Then, found it reknit itself in my heart. Right. The battle. We were supposed to meet with Nico and Reyna and set traps along the perimeter of the forest, in preparation. In addition, there was the problem of Kelli prancing about the castle. Why couldn't things be more simple?

I placed my hands on my waist before looping them around my back, interlacing them.. I turned around, and saw Percy and Annabeth embracing each other, Leo, Frank and Hazel with their hands on each other's shoulders forming a mini circle. Ron and Hermione seemed to have forgotten their previous feud and were now looking alert, presumably for to ensure Harry's safety. I wondered where Jason was, before I felt a certain pair of strong arms wrap around me. I leaned into the hug and embraced Jason back, before pulling away and grouping up with the rest of them and walking out of the Great Hall. We began to walk up a set of marble staircases, bent on finding Harry, before we saw a boy barrel down towards us; it was Harry.

"Harry!" Hermione said and once, worry spreading across her face even more than before. "Are you alright? Is anything wrong with you? What happened?" She rapid-fired.

"Come with me guys. I need to tell you something," Harry explained, fighting, but failing to keep the panic out of his tone. We continued to climb up the stairs, with Hermione muttering something along the lines of 'Not answering the question'. We walked along the first floor corridor, peering into the doorways of classrooms, before finally finding one which he dashed into, and we slowly followed.

I took a moment to assess everyone's facial expression. Annabeth and Percy had stoic facial features displayed, while Leo and Frank looked slightly agitated. Hazel looked exceptionally worried, with her hands cupped against her chest, like a little child trying to look as small and insignificant as possible. Jason looked intimidating most of the time, but now he looked sympathetic and understanding, knowing first-hand what panic Harry must be experiencing. Ron and Hermione both looked terrified as to what could frighten Harry so much.

Harry inhaled sharply, before exhaling slowly and beginning to speak,

"Voldemort's got Sirius."

"What?"

"How did you?"

"Saw it just now, when I dozed off in the exam," Harry explained.

"B—but Harry how is that possible?" Hermione asked timidly.

"I've been dreaming about the same room over the past few months. It's a room in the Department of Mysteries covered with tiny blue balls in shelves all over the place! Voldemort's got Sirius at the end of row 97 and he's using Sirius to get something. He said that he'll keep torturing Sirius and then killing him!" This was followed by a prolonged silence, no one was truly sure how to say anything to Harry, he was clearly very agitated as any one person would be when put in this situation.

"How're we going to get there?" Harry asked.

"Get there?" Jason asked in confusion. His eyes wide in surprise.

"Get to the Department of Mysteries!"

"But Harry, how did Voldemort get into the Department of Mysteries without anyone seeing him? Especially at this hour, surely it will be full of people still working. No?" Annabeth explained. Harry stamped his foot in anger,

"How do you think I will know Annabeth?" He screamed. "All I know is that Sirius is being hurt in a real bad way and we need to go there to save him!"

"Harry, be reasonable, do you think that two of the most wanted wizards on this planet are going to traipse right into the Ministry of Magic and get into the Department of Mysteries," Percy reasoned.

"Percy and Annabeth both raise fair points Harry," Ron admitted. Harry glared harshly at Ron, but before elaborating, Hazel piped up.

"Harry, don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think that you have a-," Hazel gulped, before twiddling her thumbs and continuing, "Well, saving people thing," she finished, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly.

"Yeah, don't you Harry?" Hermione asked.

'That's funny,' said Harry through gritted teeth, 'because I definitely remember Ron saying I'd wasted time acting the hero ... is that what you think this is? You reckon I want to act the hero again?'

'No, no, no!' said Hermione and Hazel, looking aghast. 'That's not what we meant at all!'

'Well, spit out what you've got to say, because we're wasting time here!' Harry shouted.

'I'm trying to say -Voldemort knows you, Harry! He took Ginny down into the Chamber of Secrets to lure you there, it's the kind of thing he does, he knows you're the-the sort of person who'd go to Sirius's aid! What if he's just trying to get you into the Department of Myst-?'

'Hermione, it doesn't matter if he's done it to get me there or not-they've taken McGonagall to St. Mungo's, there isn't anyone from the Order left at Hogwarts who we can tell, and if we don't go, Sirius is dead!'

'But Harry-what if your dream was-was just that, a dream?'

Harry let out a roar of frustration. Hermione actually stepped back from him, looking alarmed.

'You don't get it!' Harry shouted at her, 'I'm not having nightmares, I'm not just dreaming! I just explained that I'm not having nightmares, I'm having VISIONS Hermione. What d'you think all the Occlumency was for, why d'you think Dumbledore wanted me prevented from seeing these things? Because they're REAL, Hazel I'm talking to you, -Sirius is trapped, I've seen him. Voldemort's got him, and no one else knows, and that means we're the only ones who can save him, and if you don't want to do it, fine, but I'm going, understand? And if I remember rightly, you didn't have a problem with my saving-people thing when it was you I was saving from the dementors, or-he rounded on Ron-when it was your sister I was saving from the Basilisk-'

'I never said I had a problem!' said Ron heatedly.

'But Harry, you've just said it,' said Hermione fiercely, 'Dumbledore wanted you to learn to shut these things out of your mind, if you'd done Occlumency properly you'd never have seen this-'

Harry let out a scream in anger, and all of us recoiled.

"HERMIONE. HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO TRY AND FORGET THIS! OCCLUMENCY NEVER WORKED FOR ME. YOU THINK LIKE I'LL BE ABLE TO FORGET THAT AND GO BACK TO NORMAL!" Harry bellowed. Enough was enough, I stepped up,

"Harry, calm down." Visibly, Harry's breathing rate decreased from his heart not beating so fast in agitation. His eyes and shoulders relaxed and the emotion of anger seemed to disperse from his body, leaving him calm. That was, until the classroom's door opened and Ginny walked in, her long red hair dancing behind her, with an expression of curiosity displayed on her face, followed swiftly by Luna, who looked lost and serene, almost as if she had managed to accidentally walk into the room.

"Hey," Ginny said, her voice laced with apprehension. "We heard Harry's voice echoing through the corridors," she explained. "Why were you yelling?" Harry's jaw then tightened and he took on his previous appearance of anger and stress. I honestly had no idea why.

"Doesn't matter Ginny," he roughly responded.

Ginny scowled and crossed her arms,

"No need to talk like that to me. I was just seeing if I could help in any way," she coolly responded.

"There's nothing you can do," Harry savagely responded.

"You know, you're being quite inconsiderate you know," Luna sagely explained. Harry turned around, obscuring his face from view. I looked around and saw Percy and Leo struggling to keep their laughs in, yet clearly sympathizing with Harry and how he was trying to get into an argument with Luna Lovegood. Abruptly, a look of realization dawned on Annabeth's face. She broke into a wide grin, before speaking with enthusiasm,

"Wait Harry, there's a way that they can help." Harry titled his head in curiosity, clearly inviting Annabeth to continue. "We'll have to use the fire in Umbridge's Office, so all of us can stand guard and keep them away from the room, and you can have your chat with Sirius," Annabeth brightly explained.

"He's not there Annabeth!" Harry exclaimed. I sighed deeply, before continuing our quaint conversation

"Okay Harry. You can check whether or not Sirius is at home, and then we can go from there," I reasoned. I laced my voice with copious amounts of charmspeak, determined to cool Harry down, and make him see reason. Harry's face visibly slackened, clearly affected by the charmspeak. However, his jaw grew taut and his look of laziness was replaced again, due to the interruption of guess who? Luna Lovegood.

"When you say Sirius is in trouble, surely you mean Stubby Boardman?" She inquisitively asked. The tension between Percy and Leo broke, with them both almost collapsing into a fit of hysterics, I struggled to keep down the urge to join in, my mind flashing back to that well… eventful day on the Hogwarts Express. Of course, Harry had some sort of unique ability that when Luna Lovegood began spewing her wise words of 'wisdom', he managed to break any sort of enchantment of spell put upon him. Brilliant.

Harry, now obviously shaken out of his stupor, shot me a sharp glare, more than likely suspecting that I had used my abilities to subdue him, before viciously continuing,

"Fine. I'll go into Umbridge's office, but you've got to hurry up, or I'll go to the department of mysteries myself."  
"Department of Mysteries," Luna mistily asked. I mentally facepalmed, Luna could forget the most simple of conversations. "But how are you going to get there?"

Again, Harry resisted an urge to shout, something that I could clearly feel emanating off his body.

"Right…" Hazel nervously began, twiddling her thumbs and slowly pacing up and down the length of the classroom, "One of us will need to find Umbridge and keep her away from the office—keep her away and like… make sure she won't bust us and we could send her into some other room—."

"—And we could make up some story, like that Peeves is messing up some classroom on the other side of the castle," Hermione finished. After a brief pause, where everyone cast nervous glances at the people surrounding them, Ron sighed before piping up,

"I'll do it. I'll say that Peeves is smashing up the transfiguration department, its on the opposite side of the castle, we should definitely have enough time that way."

Hermione and Annabeth both nodded, but neither protested and it was due to the seriousness of the situation that this occurred, as if it was any other case they would have profusely disagreed by using this method.

"Luna and I can stand guard on either side of the doorway and tell them that the corridor is full of Garroting Gas, and no one will want to cross anywhere near Umbridge's office if its full of it!" Ginny exclaimed. She looked at Luna for some sort of support, but Luna was staring at a book on the shelf, and seemed to give a gentle wave of the hand, dismissing Ginny's point as something not worth her time.

"Harry and I can sneak in together and have our chat with Sirius!" Hermione brightly explained.

"He's not there Hermione!" Harry exclaimed. Hermione sighed deeply, clearly not wanting to pursue this path again. She turned briefly and began talking,

"So Ginny and Luna will be standing guard, Ron will lead Umbridge off in another direction, Harry and I will enter Umbridge's office, but what will you seven do?" Annabeth shrugged, and turned around and raised her eyebrow inquisitively, before crossing her arms in a condescending manner and we got the general message: _what are we gonna do?_

"I guess we could stand outside and make sure no one goes into the office?" Jason asked, with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"Yeah! I could also make a mist curtain so no one will see what we're standing around for!" Hazel brightly explained. Percy however, frowned before voicing his own opinion,

"Well, there's also the problem of Kelli," Percy disclosed, a slight frown coming across his face, and his brow beginning to furrow. I also sawf Annabeth's shoulders tighten and her hand clench into a fist at the mention of Kelli. She gulped visibly, before speaking,

"Okay, so Hazel, Jason, Piper and Frank can guard Umbridge's door, and Percy, Leo and I will go and find Kelli, and find out whatever Ron told her," Annabeth nervously explained. I looked at her in surprise, but she shot me a steely glare and that was when I understood. Kelli scared her, and she needed to overcome her fear of her, because we were meant to get attacked soon. Why did it all have to be so complicated?

"Sure Annabeth. That'll be a good plan I think," I said, soothing her nerves with my charmspeak. Annabeth nodded frantically, and immediately, scampered out of the room, tailed by Percy and Leo who left without saying a word. Leo however, halted in place for a few seconds but didn't say anything, but his arms twitched unnaturally before leaving. He quickly glanced backwards, looking me straight in the eyes, before strolling out again.

I twisted my shape into an odd expression, and pursed my lips. I glanced towards the open door that Leo had just disappeared through.

"Hey did any—"I began, before cutting off due to a scathing look from Frank, and it was clear that he knew what was going on. I cleared my throat, any finished my sentence, to throw off suspicion from Hermione and Hazel

"I mean. Hey, did anyone know when we're actually going to start?" I asked sarcastically, rolling my eyes to emphasise my 'exasperation'. Hazel, who seemed to buy my story, turned away and repeated the question. We walked down the corridor, and Ron walked ahead of us and began to branch off, until Hermione broke him the news that he would have to lead Umbridge off a bit later on. Looking depressed, he walked back to the main pack. Harry however, started running towards Gryffindor Tower to retrieve Sirius' knife so he could actually break into Umbridge's office.

I walked alongside Frank, who was determinately, away from my face, trying to remove my attention from him. I knew he was hiding something. To combat his apparent interest in the wall, I laced my voice with cooling tones of charmspeak, and forced myself to sound innocent.

"Frank!" I cooed. "Look at me!" Frank rotated slowly upon my actions, and his shoulders began to slacken, and he turned to face me and look at me directly in the eyes. I peered into his dark brown eyes and recognized a familiar fight in him, trying to resist my charmspeak. I noticed it whenever I looked at Jason, Hazel or anyone else, even Harry. Before long, concluding that I had gained his whole-hearted attention, I relinquished my hold over him, and saw his eyes regain full focus and peer into my own. I placed my arm on his shoulder and talked calmly to him,

"Frank. I saw that look you gave me earlier. What is going wrong with Leo?"

"Not—"

"Don't say nothings wrong!" I almost shouted. "There's something wrong with my friend and you know what's going on. I'll say it again. What. Is. Wrong. With. Leo." I said, enunciating my words with full clarity. It was very rare that I lost my temper, but if something was wrong with Leo and we were going out to fight monsters, I needed to know what was going on.

Frank gulped, and raised his hand to his forehead and wiped over droplets of perspiration that had condensed across his forehead.

"Well you see. I don't really know!"

"Do—"

"I'm being serious Piper! Don't argue with me. I know that something is wrong with Leo he is constantly twitched and when I talked to him, it sounds like he was having some problem. He was day-dreaming and he said that his body kept uncontrollably jerking and convulsing. The sensation was described as a surge of strength, juxtaposed starkly with a surge of cold that overcame his body and particularly his fingers and toes. Then, when he tried to summon fire, he said that everything increased ten fold and he could barely do anything. Piper, this is a serious issue and I don't know what to do, Leo said not to tell anyone, but we need to find out what's happening to him. Without telling everyone. Maybe one or two more people. But we can't let Percy or Annabeth get wind of this," he explained

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, right now they're not exactly thinking clearly because of Kelli returning. They made it clear that they must overcome that obstacle before they can do anything. As well as this prophecy and yet another battle forming on the horizon, we can't put that burden on their shoulders as well."

As much as I wanted to tell them, I knew that Frank was right.

"I just hope that they're okay."

 **Annabeth:**

"Where are we going to look for Kelli?" I screamed in frustration. Stamping my foot on the ground with as much force as possible. "We've been looking for ages but we haven't found her!"

"Uh Annabeth, we've been looking for her for about five minutes no more." Leo objectively explained. I snarled in frustration before walking ahead. Leo simply didn't understand, he didn't understand what Kelli had done to Percy and what she'd done to me. I wanted to eliminate her from the equation. I walked aimlessly through the corridors, before I felt a set of hands grab me around my waist. I twisted around, and saw that Percy was clinging to me, for no obvious reason.

"What do you want Seaweed Brain?" I hissed in anger.

"Wise Girl. Calm down, Leo has made a plan," I stood there dumbfounded. Leo had found a plan? Plans were my thing? I turned around and saw about 100 feet down the corridor. I realised that I had completely lost my cool and failed to thing objectively about what to do. I was so consumed with anger and a vengeance that hadn't been stirred in years, when I first learned about Kelli at Hogwarts. No. That would be for later. Right now, we had to think objectively. I paced backwards towards Leo, with Percy grinning, undoubtedly snarky that he had got his point over to me.

"So Leo." I said immediately upon closing the distance. "Well Annabeth, you know the map that Harry told us about, the Martini Map?"

"The Marauder's Map," I corrected.

"Yeah. Whatever. That map has the ability to track down anyone in Hogwarts right? Well, what if we went back up to Gryffindor Tower and nab it and then use it to track Kelli down?" Leo proposed.

I felt a surge of confidence and felt my worries melt away. We could track down that damn Empousa and then we'd be in the clear. At least for a while. I ran past Leo, who displayed a bemused expression on his face, as I ran past him. It took Percy and Leo a little while to notice, and they took off after me.

I sprinted up the stairs to Gryffindor Tower, hopping three at a time. I heard my heart rate increased and I teetered on the verge of wheezing. After being forced to inhale that horrible air in well… yeah, running had become more difficult at a fast pace. In the months succeeding it, it had gotten easier but still running for long distances affected Percy and I the hardest. To my surprise, I saw Leo running slightly behind Percy, and breathing as heavily as Percy and I. I wondered what that was. He was probably just tired.

After a couple more minutes, we reached Gryffindor Tower and Percy uttered the password, sounding out each syllable with elongated gaps in between, due to him not being to articulate correctly and still out of breath. After a few painstaking seconds only punctuated by Percy's muttering and the deep exhaling by all three parties.

Finally, the portrait door opened to reveal a common room of loudly talking children, with their conversations ranging from exams to holidays to even something to do with the Giant Squid!

"Wait here," Percy said, before walking up the stairs to Harry's dormitory, Leo and I stayed down in the Common Room, and before long, we were approached by Seamus and Dean.

"Hey Annabeth. Hey Leo," they greeted us.

"Hello Seamus. Hey Dean," Leo greeted. I half-heartedly waved.

"So guys, I know you're in Ravenclaw but I guess we extend our hand because you're our mates."

"Extend your hand in what exactly Seamus?" I asked, curiously.

"Well now that Fred and George have left, Harold Dingle doesn't have much to sell, and since we're planning a dusk till dawn party in celebration of completing our OWLs, we're gonna buy a ton of firewhisky and butterbeer. All the sorts. Wanna pitch in a few galleons?"

"Yeah su—" I began, but I saw Percy tearing down the stairs at breakneck speed. Leo who was nodding frantically was pulled out of the conversation and broke into a run alongside me. Thank god, the portrait hole was open as Percy, Leo and I ran straight for it, leaving Seamus' mouth open at us standing him up. We dashed out of the portrait and ran down to a corridor a few floors down. I honestly didn't know why we were running away from the common room, but judging from Percy's worried expression, and his sense of urgency, it had to be important.

After coming to a halt a few floors down, Percy began to unfurl the Marauder's Map.

"Why did you run out of the Common Room Percy?" I asked.

"We don't have much time, do we? We really need to find Kelli, find out what's wrong with Sirius and then fend off a huge army and then deal with this whole 'Pit' thing like the prophecy said." He then let out a huge sigh,

"We've got no time to waste," and with further ado, he plunged his face into the map, and began scouring the paper, for the tiny dot that was labelled _Kelli_.

After around thirty seconds, Leo decided he had had enough, and pulled the map away from Percy, deaf to his complaints. He pulled out a mechanical device that I had never seen before, and placed it face down on the Marauder's Map. I looked towards him in perplexation, and he grinned wildly, probably amused about fooling me.

"Well Annabeth, this is a little something I whipped up just before we came to Hogwarts. It was meant to adapt and deceive any magical object into doing exactly what you want, as long as it is within your function."

"But how do you power it?" I said, obviously mystified. "All electronic objects go haywire around Hogwarts, there's simply too much magical power radiating everywhere!" I exclaimed

"Aha, that's where the trick is. You see this short little fuse?" He said, indicating the tiny piece of rope tied to the end of his mouse shaped object. When I light this, it activates a code that I programmed that corrupts a magical objects direct functions, and allows you to rewrite how it operates. It's kind of like a Trojan Horse, except instead of trying to pry through the back-door of electronic devices, it plows through the front door of magical objects! Aha I have a name. 'The Magical Trojan Horse. I'm gonna trademark that, so no one can copy it." He exclaimed.

"Wow Leo, you really outdid yourself this time!" Percy questioned, ignoring Leo's exclamation at the end of his speech.

"Oh yeah, thanks Perce."

Without further ado Leo set his palm alight, a tiny flame centered in his palm, dancing around his hand and licking his extremities.

I looked up at Leo, and he seemed to grimace in pain, as if the fire was harming him. His hand began to shake, and the rest of him followed suit. He began to sweat bullets, a myriad of his body fluid leaked out of his pores, as he tried to hold the flame. My eyes bulged at the scene, Leo's body was acting horribly, when he summoned fire.

After several more painstaking moments of enduring Leo's agony, he lit the fuse and it began to count down. Leo let out a huge sigh of relief, and the negative effects minimized.

"Leo, what happened there?" I questioned, mystified by Leo's abrupt change in physical condition.

"Nothing, its just that I haven't summoned fire for a while, so I felt the effects of when I first summoned fire," Leo calmly explained. It was so rare that Leo was ever calmly explaining something so horrible, that I took his word for it and believed him.

"Ah Leo, isn't something supposed to be happening now?" Percy asked, indicating the fuse that had promptly disappeared from Leo's ' _Magical Trojan Horse_ _TM_ ' yet nothing was happening.

Leo stared at it for a few moments, before angrily pacing up and down.

"It should definitely have worked. Nothing should've been able to stop it." He muttered. He kept pacing up and down, angrily muttering about how it should've worked.

Percy, who was getting impatient, decided to pull out his wand and tap the map a couple times. Nothing happened. Then, he decided to actually say an incantation.

" _Revelio."_

I looked at the map, and saw the map, which had previously been littered with names begin to fade, and go blank.

"Leo!" Percy shouted, "Come here. I've done something weird with the map!" This caught Leo's attention, and he spun around and walked over, his arm still twitching from the after-effects of the fire summoning.

"Wow Percy, you did it! How did you do it?" Leo asked.

"I just used the Revelio spell, and the map went blank," Percy said, slightly confused if this was the right thing.

"Alright, now all you need to say is the name of the person you want to find, it will show the map of Hogwarts and then their name."

"Okay," I said, inhaling deeply and closing my eyes.

"Kelli."

After I said that, I saw the ink from the map leak out and form constructs. The map began to reform, yet there were no more names present all over the map. After the entire map of Hogwarts had been revealed, there was then a tiny black dot that was etched into the parchment, and it was labelled Kelli.

"Yes!" I shouted. "She's on the seventh floor corridor, what would she be doing standing outside the room of requirement?" I asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours Annabeth," Leo said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I almost shouted, "Let's go!" Instantaneously, all of us popped off the ground and dashed up to the 7th floor corridor. We had probably done so much running today that it probably totaled more than some of our quests. Sheesh.

As we approached the 7th floor corridor, we saw Kelli, her disguise was a beautiful Slytherin girl and that was definitely how she entranced Ron. We stepped out into the open, and she barely acknowledged us, except with her snarl in opposition,

"Finally, it's Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and ooh, I believe it's Leo Valdez," She snarled. I took an aggressive step forward in her direction, but I was pulled back by both Leo and Percy hold me back. I felt that hate that I had fought down rise like bile in my throat, and I gave Kelli a death glare. She sighed contemptuously and turned in our direction, looking me dead in the eye. She then let out a loud cackle.

"Oh Annabeth, so feisty. I'll be very sorry that this dance can't last, I really just wanted to thank the two demigods who sent me back to TARTARUS!" She shouted out the last word, with venom laced in her voice.

"Don't worry Kelli, we'll send you back there again!" Percy aggressively said.

"Oh Percy, you really don't know what they have planned do you? Of course, I've set it in motion." Percy gritted his teeth in hate,

"What is it Kelli? Spit it out before I make you," he threatened.

"Ummm… How about no Percy. I have places to be. I really should be going. There's a certain mortal that I simply adore, and her name is Umbridge. I have a few secrets that I wish to spill," she ominously said.

"What did you do to Ron? What did he tell you?" I screamed at her.

"Oh, calm down Annabeth, I simply asked him a few questions and he answered. Oh, and I ensured our victory, on both fronts." With that ominous message, she smirked and began to walk.

Percy had had enough and charged Kelli. With his sword raised, he slashed where her image was, she quickly side-stepped and put one of her hands on his chest, pinning him to the wall. Percy's sword was at her back.

"Oh Percy, you can't kill me. Even if you do, it won't change a thing!" She snickered.

"It will help me though," Percy said, through gritted teeth before stabbing at Kelli's form. Just before the sword made contact, Kelli dissolved into a wall of flame, escaping.

"Damn, I thought you couldn't apparate or disapparate in Hogwarts, I thought that this empousa teleportation thing would be covered," Percy said, swearing under his breath.

"Percy, didn't she say that she had something that she wanted to tell Umbridge?" I asked.

"Oh yeah," he said, waving it off, before jerking his head forward, "Oh yeah, our friends might be in trouble!" I shook my head in exasperation, he would always be a Seaweed Brain.

 **Jason:**

"Guys I got it!" Harry shouted, as he ran towards us, brandishing Sirius' knife and the group of us being huddled at the end of Umbridge's corridor.

"All right," Hermione said, as her eyes darted from side to side in the corridor to scan for anyone passing-by, which would completely nullify our plan. "Okay, Ron, you go and distract Umbridge, that should buy us enough time," she said, and Ron took off, his red hair contrasting with the dull colours of Hogwarts' walls, like a fire that was bobbing up and down. "Ginny, Luna, you two, stand on opposite sides of the corridor and stop people from crossing. Remember, if they ask, say it's Garroting Gas. Harry and I will break into the office. Hazel, cast an 'enchantment'" Hermione said, remembering that we hadn't disclosed that we were demigods to Luna and Ginny yet. "Jason and Frank, just stand in front of the door and prevent anyone else from entering. Piper you're convincing aren't you, you send particularly stubborn people out of the way if they choose to ignore Ginny and Luna. Right, got all of that?" She asked, looking at our solemn, yet understanding faces. "Great, let's start." She said, and began to make her way across to Umbridge's office.

Harry followed suit, his body drawn taut with worry about Sirius' condition at the moment. He then brandished the cloak and flung it over Hermione and himself. Luna and Ginny took up their places at opposite ends of the corridor, to deter people from entering. Frank, Piper, Hazel and I took up our places chaperoning the door and stopping anyone from entering, other than Hermione and Harry of course.

Harry walked up to the door, well at least I thought he walked up to the door and began to fit his knife in between the door and wall as it was moving, what else could it be? Anyways, the door clicked open, and we heard Hermione's disembodied voice echoing. Okay, if you see Umbridge coming, a loud chorus of Weasley is our King is the signal okay?" She said, before shutting the door behind her.

After the door had closed, and Luna and Ginny were busy distracting before from the corridor, and saying things like,

"Not my fault, walk through there if you want to black-out from that stench. Go on go ahead!" Before, promptly dismissing the people that were startled by their eagerness. While they were busy, Hazel controlled and conjured the mist, creating a sort of barrier between the doorway, and making it look like a wall.

After a couple minutes of silence, I began some small talk with the rest of the group and devised battle strategies and how they were going to combat the army, apparently Nico and Camp Half-Blood were right now setting up and the same with Camp Jupiter. Although we were fighting in yet another battle, at least we would be with our friends. Then, we did the stupid and clumsy thing of neither Frank nor I watching our sides and we faced the consequences.

"Don't even think about moving Grace!" A voice drawled. I knew that voice anywhere, and it was Draco Malfoy. Frank and the others let out screams of pain as they were subdued by our assailants. Frank was smashed in the back of the head by Crabbe the Gorilla and prodded in the back by Crabbe's meaty hand.

Piper was subdued by some ape looking female that I thought I had seen somewhere before, while Hazel was whaled on by Millicent Bulstrode, who was a Slytherin girl that looked like a sack of potatoes.

Ginny was brought by Warrington, with her in one hand and Neville struggling in the other, trying to reach for his wand. Luna was caught by Goyle, and looked like she was supremely uncomfortable.

Behind all of them, the toad Umbridge strode out, with a wide grin present on her flabby face.

"Well Done all of you!" She sqealed in excitement. "One Hundred Points to Slytherin!" She bellowed. She then looked at the wall, and I felt my mood lighten, she couldn't find the door, Hazel's magic was good. I locked eyes with Piper and we had a silent conversation, about whether or not to use our powers. Piper decided to use hers, and spoke,

"Oh Draco, would you be so ki— mmmppphhhmph" she was cut off by the girl that I felt like I had seen before, but couldn't put my finger on it. Oh yeah, Pansy Parkinson, the annoying shrill girl that I couldn't stand began to laugh hysterically,

"Shut up! Don't speak unless you were spoken to!" I felt my blood begin to boil, I was about to send her flying into the wall for this, but yet again Piper locked her eyes with mine and discouraged me from doing it. All this while, Umbridge was feeling the surrounding wall, trying to find the door. Finally, she felt an indent and she shrieked in happiness.

"Haha! Your little tricks can't work on me! _Revelio!_ "

Before our eyes, Hazel's mist began to unravel and expose the door. Umbridge put her flabby hand on the door and twisted. The door opened, and I saw Umbridge stride through and grab Harry, who's head was lodged firmly in the fireplace, by the hair, and dragged him up, spluttering and cursing.

"I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING IN MY OFFICE!" She bellowed.

"I was loo- looking for m- my Firebolt. I thought it would be in here," Harry choked out.

"You would think that after two Nifflers had sneaked into my office, that I would let another horrible creature just like them, scavenge through my stuff again without me knowing? I had Stealth-Sensoring Spells covering every inch of this room, you foolish boy. Oh and by the way, take his wand, she barked to another Slytherin student. His hand plunged into Harry's robes and pulled out his wand. Hers too," she said, indicating Hermione. There was a small scuffle, and Hermione's wand was wrested from her by Millicent Bulstrode.

"I'll ask again Potter. I want the truth this time. What. Were. You. Doing. In. My. Office?" she whispered, taking the time to enunciate each word so her message would be interpreted clearly.

"I told you. I was looking for my Firebolt!" Harry exclaimed, seeming slightly angry now.

"LIAR POTTER! You know that your Firebolt is in the dungeon, not in my office. Your head was in my fire, with whom were you communicating?"

"No one—" Harry said, trying to wrest his body away from her hold, but her grip was too firm.

"LIAR!" She shouted, throwing him against the wall, and rotating his body. Harry then saw that Hermione was pinned Millicent Bulstrode, who's girth covered both Hermione and Hazel with ease. He then saw the group of us, all of us captured by a multitude of Slytherin students. His eyes widened in surprise to see all of us here.

'So, Potter,' she said. 'You stationed lookouts around my office and you sent this buffoon,' she nodded at Ron-Malfoy laughed even louder-'to tell me the poltergeist was wreaking havoc in the Transfiguration department when I knew perfectly well that he was busy smearing ink on the eyepieces of all the school telescopes- Mr. Filch having just informed me so.'

'Clearly, it was very important for you to talk to somebody. Was it Albus Dumbledore? Or the half-breed, Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall, I hear she is still too ill to talk to anyone.'

Malfoy and a few of the other members of the Inquisitorial Squad laughed some more at that.

"It's none of your business who I talk to!" He snarled in anger.

"Well Potter. Since you have refused to tell me truthfully, I will have to force it out of you. Well then, Draco fetch Professor Snape. Crabbe, contain Grace. Draco dashed out of the room in search for Professor Snape, and Crabbe's hold was strangling me; it was that tight. Harry's eyes widened in realization, but I honestly had no idea what he was supposed to be realizing in that moment.

In a short while, Malfoy returned, flanked by Snape and his greasy hair. He cast a contemptuous look at the rest of us, before resting his gaze and his lip beginning to curl, as it always did when he looked at Harry. He returned his gaze onto Umbridge, and forced a sort of bow.

"You wanted to see me Headmistress?" He asked.

'Ah, Professor Snape,' said Umbridge, smiling widely and standing up again. 'Yes, I would like another bottle of Veritaserum, as quick as you can, please.'

'You took my last bottle to interrogate Potter,' he said, surveying her coolly through his greasy curtains of black hair. 'Surely you did not use it all? I told you that three drops would be sufficient.'

Umbridge flushed. Her face going red with anger.

'You can make some more, can't you?' she said, her voice becoming more sweetly girlish as it always did when she was furious.

'Certainly,' said Snape, his lip curling, his impatience leaking through into his face. 'It takes a full moon-cycle to mature, so I should have it ready for you in around a month.'

'A month?' squawked Umbridge, swelling toadishly. 'A month! But I need it this evening, Snape! I have just found Potter using my fire to communicate with a person or persons unknown!'

'Really?' said Snape, showing his first, faint sign of interest as he looked round at Harry. 'Well, it doesn't surprise me. Potter has never shown much inclination to follow school rules.'

His cold, dark eyes were boring into Harry's, who met his gaze unflinchingly, like always, but I saw some form of concentration deep in his eyes, as if he was trying to send Snape a message. Anyways, my attention was torn away form this scene by Umbridge's furious voice, which was extremely hard to ignore.

'I wish to interrogate him!' repeated Umbridge angrily, and Snape looked away from Harry back into her furiously quivering gaze. 'I wish you to provide me with a potion that will force him to tell me the truth!'

'I have already told you,' said Snape slightly aggressively, clearly annoyed and exasperated by Umbridge's childish demands. He sighed deeply, and composed himself, before continuing. 'I have no further stocks of Veritaserum. Unless you wish to poison Potter-and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did-I cannot help you. The only trouble is that most venoms act too fast to give the victim much time for truth-telling. It's one of their main drawbacks and why Veritaserum is a much more effective option.

Snape looked back at Harry, who stared at him almost pleadingly, confusing me as if he was almost frantic to communicate without words. He looked like he was trying to form a cryptic sentence to say something.

'You are on probation!' shrieked Professor Umbridge, and Snape looked back at her, his eyebrows slightly raised. 'You arc being deliberately unhelpful! I expected better, Lucius Malfoy always speaks most highly of you! Now get out of my office!'

Snape gave her an ironic bow, similar to the one at the start of their conversation and turned to leave.

Harry began to splutter and forced out some sort of sentence that I doubt anyone but himself understood.

"He's got Padfoot!" He shrieked out. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!" He desperately pleaded.

Snape turned around and turned to view Harry with the same indifference. Umbridge, however, looked scandalized and confused.

"Padfoot?" she spluttered out, "What is a Padfoot? Snape, what is this ridiculous boy on about?"

Snape's face showed no emotion and if he understood this blabbering mess that Harry had spit out it wasn't shown.

"I have no idea Headmistress," Snape coldly responded, his eyebrows scrunching together and his hooked nose turned upwards, in apparent disgust. "Potter, don't you dare shout that nonsense at me, or I shall give you a Babbling Beverage. And Crabbe, loosen your hold a little. If Longbottom suffocates it will mean a lot of tedious paperwork and while I am indifferent to his fate, it will entail a mention on your reference if ever you apply for a job and that wouldn't be preferable.

He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving it withering and shaking on its hinges.

Umbridge's chest was heaving and falling in anger, her face red in frustration as her demands weren't met by Snape. She exhaled deeply.

"Well then Potter. Since you leave me no alternative, there's only one other option. The – The Cruciatus Curse outta loosen your tongue."

'NO!' Hermione shrieked, her voice reverberating off the walls. "That's illegal Professor!" She forced out in petrification.

"What Cornelius doesn't know. Won't hurt him."

"Professor you can't do this!" Piper urged, pouring charmspeak into her voice, but it had no effect, and there was a nasty, almost excited expression on her face. She raised her wand, his hand curled around the piece of wood.

Almost as if on cue, the door exploded, and a beautiful girl wandered through, acting as if she was out of breath. She choked out, "Professor Umbridge," She rotated her face, and I saw her face and my mind flashed back to the description of Kelli that was given to us and the picture that was taken by Colin. This was Kelli. The Empousa.

"What do you want Kelli?" Umbridge snarled. I am in the middle of something right now.

"Oh this will definitely be worth your time Professor. Its to do with the American Exchange Students: Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Leo Valdez, Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, four of whom are in this room."

I looked around, and saw Frank restraining his bonds, trying to lunge towards Kelli, and Hazel and Piper mimicked the action. Hermione looked furious and was elbowing Millicent Bulstrode to get to her. Ron of course, was mesmerized by her appearance, and Hazel who was nearby had to summon a punch to his leg, which snapped him out of it.

At this point, Umbridge turned around, smiling,

"Go on my dear."

"Well you see, these people aren't wizards, they are demigods."

BOOM! The floodgates exploded in my ears. I felt all eyes on the room move onto us and Malfoy's grip on me tightened.

"They were here to protect Harry Potter, but they aren't doing a very good job are they!" She cackled.

Umbridge who was still in shock, opened and closed her mouth like a fish, but quickly composed herself and with malice laced in her tone,

"Filthy Half-Breeds how dare you come into my office and taint it with your disgusting hands. Thank you, Kelli, for informing me, I will deal with them swiftly, let's start with the blond one shall we?" I locked eyes with Piper and we silently agreed to use our powers to combat this. For the second time, Umbridge raised her wand and I was about to rebel until…

An inky darkness flooded in the centre of the room, and four shapes emerged, Percy, Nico, Annabeth and Leo.

Percy and Annabeth brandished their wands and shot two jets of red light at Malfoy and Parkinson, freeing Piper and I. I lifted up off the ground and thrust my hands towards Millicent Bulstrode, and hit both Hermione and Hazel's restrainer away and onto the ground. Annabeth, ran towards Crabbe the oaf, and knocked him right in the face and followed up with a swift punch to the gut that caused him to double over. Frank, turned into a cougar, and escaped his captor, before jumping towards Warrington, and swatting his burly frame away with his powerful paws.

Finally, the Slytherin's seemed to overcome their shock and shot bright jets of light towards our friends and they dodged everything. Leo charged towards Goyle and shot a spell that lifted him off his feet from point blank range. Goyle then struggled to get up, Leo then raised his hammer, but his hand trembled and he missed his target. Leo then stared at his hand that was shaking. He then gritted his teeth in frustration and tried again. This time, finding his mark and knocking him out.

By now, the only members of the squad left standing were an unknown Slytherin boy, and Umbridge, who were locked in a wand duel with Percy and Piper. The rest of them, were unmoving on the ground or were barely stirring, only to be knocked out by Frank's frame or Annabeth's fists. Piper then shot a disarming charm that hit the boy straight in the chest and his wand flew high into the air. Hazel, now seizing the opportunity found one of Umbridge's silver plates and levitated it, before slamming it with so much force on the boy's head that it shattered it into many pieces. Now, it was just Percy and Umbridge locked in a duel. Umbridge managed to get under Percy's guard and shot a spell, that barely missed him, but instead ricocheted off the wall and impacted his side, causing him to groan. Then, she shot at me, and knocked me out of the sky, just before I could send a bolt of lightning at her. I fell to the ground, but the pain wasn't bad enough to put me out of commission, I simply continued to survey the fight from a slightly lower angle. Nico then shouted in anger and charged Umbridge. With one stroke, he sent her stumbled backwards, and continued to assail her with blows from all angles. Finally, when Umbridge was barely standing Nico reared back.

"Don't worry you old hag. My father will see you soon," he said, before elbowing her. We stared around, looking at the carnage we caused, many plates scattered and broken all over the ground and the place strewn with the immovable bodies of the Inquisitorial Squad.

"Oh I wanted to do that for such a long time!" Nico said, groaning with pleasure at completing his task.

"How would you know?" Percy said, while groaning and stumbling to his feet. You haven't had to endure her for a year."

"But yeah, the IMs you sent me about how she was just made me hate her without even having to know who she was. It was just so satisfying."

"I can't agree with you there," Percy said, clasping Nico's in thanks.

"You all right? Annabeth asked to the general audience.

There was a general murmur of assent from everyone, except for Ginny, Luna and Neville, who all stood transfixed looking at all of us.

"Why are they staring at us?" Leo asked, in bewilderment. "I would understand if it was just me, but like why all of us?"

"Uh well," I began, it's kind of because Kelli blew the whistle on us," I voiced. Upon the word Kelli, Annabeth and Percy spun around and saw Kelli standing in the doorway, clapping softly.

"Oh, you're getting sloppy aren't you, not realizing that I left," she taunted.

"What do you want Kelli?" Percy asked.

"Nothing, I guess my plan to distract you failed, but still, there's no way you can defeat us. Sorry guys, but I will have a lot of fun killing you Annabeth, she said. Before, disappearing in a column of fire.

Percy then slammed his fist into the wall, and Annabeth placed both her hands on his shoulders to diffuse his anger.

"It's alright Seaweed Brain, we'll get her next time," she soothed, and Percy's tension began to drain away. He then turned around and began to stare at Ginny, Luna and Neville, who's gaze hadn't even flickered from us. Finally, Ginny croaked something out,

"You g-g-g-guys a-a-are de-demigods?" We all shared looks, before shrugging and Piper, being a talker began to expose.

"Yeah basically. We're children of the gods."

"That's so cool!" Neville exclaimed. Frank awkwardly rubbed his head and muttered out,

"Yeah." The awkwardness in that room was so thick you could've cut it with a butter-knife.

"You know my daddy has done a section in the Quibbler about demigods and how they might be real, right?" Luna blurted out. The tension in the room broke between us, Percy and I collapsed on the ground, Leo looked like he was a fish flopping about without water in laughter, even Hermione and Annabeth were clutching each other and laughing. All in all, everyone found humor in that statement. However, Ginny brought everyone back to attention by pointing out Harry's solemn face. Immediately, Hermione's face fell and she looked apologetic,

"Oh I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't realise what you must be going through."

"Guys. Sirius is at the Department of Mysteries and is being tortured by Voldemort at this current moment! We haven't got time to waste!" He exclaimed. Harry's face was riddled with an agenda: Save Sirius.

"Okay, we're going to be discussing this later you guys," Ginny said, indicating all seven of us, "but, right now Sirius is more important. We need to save him," she said, smiling at Harry, who gave a faint grin in return.

"Okay, but first we need to wipe this lot's memories," Annabeth said.

"How are we supposed to make them forget just this? Wouldn't obliviating them just remove all their memories? I know it's possible to modify someone's memories but it is extremely difficult, even I haven't been able to do it," Hermione reasoned.

"He hem," everyone whipped around to see Frank trying to gain everyone's attention, which he did an amazing job of. "We have a certain person who was able to modify someone's memory at a tiny level in this room right now," Frank said, before staring at Hazel.

Everyone else stared at Hazel, before she began to explain,

"I did it once in Dumbledore's office, when he was getting arrested and Umbridge was interrogating that snake Marietta."

"So you have done it before?" Piper asked.

"Yes, but only to one person, and after that I was drained I don't know if I can do it to everyone in this room, let alone stay conscious during the whole ordeal."

"You can do it Hazel. I. No, we, all believe in you," I said.

"I'm not sure if I—" Hazel began, before being cut across,

"Hazel, you're an amazingly strong demigod, you the one who saved us at the House of Hades, you've got will beyond imagination!" Leo exclaimed.

"C'mon sis, you can do it!" Nico voiced.

"Oh and by the way, I can only really cast a thin layer of magic, but it should be easier to do this as they're wizards and I won't have to use as much energy as I may have with one of you guys. Because of that, I think that Ginny, Luna, Neville, Ron, Hermione and Harry should all leave so I don't accidentally well, erase parts of your memory."

"Sure!" they chorused, and left the room and presumably stood outside the door.

Hazel inhaled deeply and closed her eyes Her dark hair began to whip around her body and she put her palms together, almost as if she was in meditation.

I knew that this was probably the most energy and the hardest thing she'd have to do with the mist, as it had to be worked on such a tiny level.

There seemed to be some sort of external force swirling around her and a mass of white smoke began to rotate in seamless coordination around her frame. She almost looked like Rachel when she was giving a prophecy. Slowly, she began to move her hands so they were now resting on either side of body. She puffed her chest out and began to rotate her hands in large circular motions, almost as if she was trying to make a circular construct out of nothing.

The smoke then wove around her, almost like a tight suit; a second skin, weaving around her body and lacing itself through her hair. Her face was almost covered in the mist, when her eyes quickly opened, and exposed her deep golden eyes, contrasting starkly to the abundance of white vapour. Then, something abnormal happened, the smoke then began to glide slowly into her eyes, filling her sockets with the blank, turning her iris from a bright golden colour to a bleak grey, the smoke then began to leak into the canals that lead to her inner organs. Smoke flooded her ears, and the white completely veiled her as the presence of white was overwhelming. Smoke flooded through her nose, mouth and ears and seemingly eclipsed her inner organs, before pouring out through her mouth. She breathed a sort of white fire, almost like a dragon blowing out a ton of steam after charring someone to the bone (and trust me, you don't want to be near any dragons). The white plume of mist the coalesced in between her hands and seemingly hardened into a fine ball of mist. She then crushed her palms together, exposing the mist and thrust her hands out, almost as if she was ripping apart a particularly resilient compound. The mist turned into a thin sheet that ricocheted and reverberated off the corners of the room. My mind began to turn hazy, and I felt some memories slip away from me, yet I felt more connected than ever, and I opened my eyes, and the mist disappeared.

Hazel then let out a huge sigh, before promptly collapsing on the ground.

"Hazel!" Frank shouted, her groan shaking him out of his stupor. I saw everyone else lazily recede from their trance.

"Wow!" Is what Leo said, "Hazel, that was some powerful magic."

That really was powerful magic. If that was a thin layer, what would Hazel be like if she was trying to do this on a massive scale? What would the destruction result in?

I was torn away from my thoughts by Nico's presence on my shoulder, I whipped around to see the son of Hades' smiling broadly as Hazel began to get up.

"Nice job sis! That was some stellar magic," he exclaimed.

"My head hurts but yeah, thanks Nico."

"Now there's one thing to do isn't there?" Percy asked.

"That is exactly what?" Annabeth asked. Percy and Nico then locked eyes and spoke in sync,

"Decide what we do with Umbridge," they both echoed.

 **Nico:**

"Can we drop her in the Black Lake?" Percy asked.

"Or ooh, let Grawp have her as a doll?" Leo asked.

"Maybe, we can toss her off the Astronomy Tower?" Jason asked.

"OR!" I shouted getting everyone's attention. We could ask Hermione what her plan was?"

"She had a plan?" Piper asked.

"I could tell, you could see it in her eyes."

"Okay then, bring her in!" Annabeth said.

Soon, the rest of the wizards were brought in, and the first thing they did was stare at all the carnage strewn around the place, even though they were just in here, it still surprised me how much damage we had done.

"Hermione, what was your plan to deal with Umbridge before we came?" I asked.

She began to fiddle with her hair, as it was clear that she was nervous.

"Well you see, I was going to go into the forest and do something, probably give her to the centaurs or something?" She said, her last words sounding more like a question than a statement.

"Or maybe give her to Grawp?" Ron exclaimed.

"Nah Ron, that seems a bit extreme," Annabeth said.

"Why are we finding ways to hurt Umbridge anyway?" Hazel asked, worried.

"It's not because she's a foul hag," I explained, "It's because my father said something about her needing to be out of the way,"

"Why does she need to be out of the way anyway?" Leo asked.

"No idea. My dad said so," I said, before shrugging in indifference. "Probably because she's a foul hag," I said again.

"Okay so we're giving her to the centaurs?" Hermione asked.

"Yup, I'll go do that now," I replied.

I walked over to Umbridge and bent over to pick up her loose frame. I struggled with lifting her up, her skin was flabby and wrinkly, making it a definite new experience for my hands, which were currently freaking out. I lifted my head away, to try and avoid the pungent odor that was her cologne? Whatever it was, it definitely made her smell like the interior of a stinking shoe, nothing pleasant. I lugged her over and began to concentrate, and then slipped away from the receding light and back into the welcoming shadows. Shadow-travelling had become much easier for me now, and when night approached I could do it without tiring constantly. I didn't really know why this was, maybe it was just my power increasing as I aged, or maybe it was something else that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

I shadow-travelled into the middle of the Dark Forest, not too far from where we had set up camp a few nights ago. I dropped Umbridge off on the ground, and retreated behind the cover of trees as she began to stir.

She seemed to take an eternity to actually stand up, and her coordination was completely off, to be expected from someone who had just been knocked out, and had her memory of recent events erased.

I had a gut sensation that a group of centaurs (a herd?) would be coming through any moment, and Umbridge wouldn't be able to resist insulting those 'half-breeds' and then that would carry itself forth and then the entertainment would commence.

"Who brought me here?" She bellowed in defiance. "AHHH!" She continued to shriek, screaming in indignation to absolutely no one.

Soon, her cacophonous screams caught the attention of multiple forest dwellers. Umbridge's eyes flashed dangerously whenever a minor disturbance reached her ears. She probably heard the distant patter of hooves clop trotting across the forest mulch.

Her eyes dilated unnaturally and her body almost seized up in anger. She brandished her wand, but then proceeded to stow it away, upon seeing her filthy clothes from almost bathing in the bark and humus adorning the forest floor.

Then, she acted out her previous action of brandishing her wand in the general direction of the sound.

"Declare yourself crea—" An arrow thudded into the tree just behind her back, and I watched in almost satisfaction as a group of angry centaurs grouped up in front of a chattering Umbridge.

"I warn you half-breeds! I am a Ministry Offical!" She screamed in terror. "In accordance to law Fifteen B which states that any magical creature that displays near human intelligence is hence forth considered responsible and in charge of its actions—"

"Near human intelligence?" A chest-nut bodied centaur bellowed advancing upon the dimunitive Umbridge with his bow raised, mimicking the rest of his group. "We consider ourselves to be far more intelligent that you, human!"

"What are you doing in our forest?" A black haired, and black-bodied centaur voiced. I couldn't help but notice some similarities in our colouration, I preferred to blend into the shadows, yet this centaur embodied the shadows. Hm?

"Your forest?" Umbridge asked, incredulously. Drawing my attention back to the scene that was unfolding.

"I don't think that you are able to claim this forest for your own centaur. Besides, you're only allowed here because the Ministry of Magic granted you permission—" An arrow flew so close to her head that it may have taken off parts of her disheveled hair, which was proceeded by an ear-splitting scream that caused me to jump out of by bush, and many centaurs' turned in bewilderment. I doubt they saw anything except movement, and returned to their raucous laughing.

Umbridge, her eyes flashing red with madness and anger, only fueled further by their jabs and taunts and the black centaur's proclamation.

"Whose forest is it now, human?" he bellowed.

"Filthy half-breed scum!" Umbridge shouted, before flicking her wand aggressively at the black centaur's neck.

A thick cord erupted from the tip of her wand, and flew through the air at an unattainable speed towards the centaur. In her anger, and her shaking hand, the snake-like cords first bound around his torso, eliciting a scream in pain from being bound. Followed suit, by the twine binding his hands together and looping around his neck, before locking together tightly, extracting another agonizing roar from the centaur.

The Centaur's scream alerted the other centaurs, and they towered the petite professor, and reared up on their hind legs, and crashed their concave hooves into her torso, and the combined forces of multiple hooves launched Umbridge from her current position to about ten feet across the clearing and slammed her into a tree. Miraculously, Umbridge struggled to her feet, but was then assaulted by the centaurs again, this time joined by the black centaur that she had previously bound.

I heard the constant groans and screams of Umbridge, and it reached a point where I couldn't bear her screams of pain. I heard similar screams of pain whenever I visited my father, and despite how horrible Umbridge was, I couldn't let that happen to her. Additionally, I felt a strange urge to intervene. Not just due to Umbridge, but as if I felt like that dark centaur had some information that I needed. So, mustering my courage and walking in front of a horde of angry centaurs and shouted, "Hey!" to grab their attention. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the greatest idea, but I had got myself into this mess.

The centaur herd halted their assault on Umbridge and I stole a glance at her face, which was covered in bruises and hoof imprints, and a thin line of blood excreting from her nasal cavity.

"It's another human!" one of the centaurs pointed out. The group began to charge towards me, with their bows raised, arrows nocked. But, I pooled my strength and poured power into my voice and said, with a deadly calm,

"Stop."

The group of centaurs stopped in confusion, my voice seemingly petrifying them, stopping them in their tracks. A visage of awkwardness or confusion pooling amongst them, almost as if waiting for a decision. Many, waited for some sort of indication, and resorted to glaring at me, and adjusting their bows.

Again, the black haired centaur came to the fore-front, his chest puffed out, and an arrow drawn taut on his bowstring.

"What do you want, human?" He taunted, with a venom-laced tone. Upon this proclamation, the rest of the centaurs backed up, stumbling upon one another. After a few seconds of them toppling and struggling to align properly, they had regained some form of order  
or status and stood up, tall and straight. They nocked arrows and drew themselves up and their bowstrings backward, positioning themselves in a manner where they could immediately take me out.

"I just want to talk," I responded cooly. The centaur looked enraged and looked almost livid at my question, as if talking with humans was a great sin amongst their kind.

"We have no business with you human. You wizards are the worst kind. Thinking you can constantly tread over us, our intelligence far outstrips your puny race."

"I'm not a wizard," I said, pausing dramatically drinking in the centaur's curious and befuddled expressions. "I'm a demigod." Upon uttering those words, the entire group of centaurs released their arrows, and they flew towards me. Time seemed to slow down around me and I grabbed my Stygian Iron blade from its scabbard. I thrusted upward, splitting the arrow from their leader straight down the middle. I rolled underneath the subsequent few, before jumping up off my knees and hacking apart the remaining arrows, splitting the fletching from the arrowhead.

I then closed my eyes and shadow-travelled a tiny distance, just behind their leader and pressed the tip of my sword against the centaur's neck. Naturally, centaurs and many creatures in general, and were scared of the River Styx and anything that remotely connotes with it. The centaur shivered amongst its presence and whinnied in protest.

"Tell them to leave," I whispered softly, "I need to have a chat with you."

The centaur then croaked out, his eyes widening in fear as I pressed the tip of my sword deeper into his collar.

"Leave. I have business with this boy. Take the witch and carry her deep into the forest. We'll deal with her later."

"Don't harm her," I muttered.

"Don't harm her," he said, addressing the remainder of his group.

The centaurs cantered anxiously as if they were wishing to protest their leader's decision, before shortly being bellowed at.

"GO!" The herd then cantered nervously towards the lifeless body of Umbridge carefully, determined not to harm her. They trotted off into the distance, before stopping on a hill, on the edge of my vision. Turning around, making eye contact and then racing off into the forest.

Once I was sure that the centaurs had left us, I released my hold of the blade and my grip on the centaur.

"My name is Bane. What's yours?" He asked, his voice turning business-like as if he knew why I had come her. Surprised by his gesture, I felt like it was only courteous to respond.

"Nico Di Angelo. Son of Hades."

"Bah. I knew I smelt the stench of death on you, but wait," he said, prodding the air, almost as if he was reading my life. "You were plucked from time, you were born in what, the 1950s?"

"No. The 1930s."

"I know magic my friend –"

"Wait friend?" I responded, confused. These centaurs had acted so hostile to me and Umbridge mere moments ago, now he was calling me friend? I didn't understand.

"Yes Nico Di Angelo. I called you friend. Do you know why?"

"No?" I responded.

"A while ago, when we were located in America, the center of the gods' power. Our cousins, these American centaurs were more rowdy and loved alcohol and parties. I was only a foal at that time, but one day, our herd went to war with another herd. Since I was a foal, my mother took care of me, and I wasn't permitted to engage in battle. Our enemies were drunk and they slaughtered without remorse. They stormed our camp, they killed many, our tribe then was so much larger. Now, we are tiny in comparison. The centaurs almost eradicated our herd, until a strange power intervened. He introduced himself as 'The Rich One'."

"That was my father for sure," I concurred.

"Yes, I know, let me finish. This person intervened and stopped the other group from destroying us. But, the centaurs being as drunk as they were, tried to kill us and this stranger anyway."

"That wouldn't have ended well," I said, shaking my head. You really didn't want to get on the wrong side of any deity.

"It didn't," he said, looking towards the ground. "Hades struck them down lazily. He waved his hand and the group disintegrated. The problem was that he disintegrated some of our tribe. Including my father," he murmured his voice cracking. "Sorry," he apologized. "Let me continue. Me, being grief-striken and angry charged him. He put a hand out, and drew me in… Well, I think that it would be easier to show you," he muttered, pushing his hand forward.

 _A dark wave emanated from this figure and Bane froze in was so consumed in anger at the fate of his father that he ran foolishly forward. But, he realised that this figure could easily kill him. The impossibly large hands of the character closed around his neck, and a guttural choking sound exploded from Bane's lungs. Bane closed his eyes, preparing for death at the hands of this beyond powerful figure. However, the release never came. His eyes briefly opened, to see 'The Rich One' sitting down, his hand retracting from his neck, and his legs crossed. Bane took a moment to assess the figure. He was extremely tall, towering over Bane, who was a tall centaur anyways. He had albino-white skin, like he had spent very few days in the sunlight and intense black eyes that glittered like frozen tar, with the eyes of a madman._

"Well, this was unexpected," the figure began. Bane looked on in fear at the powerful figure, rippled with muscles but didn't respond in fear. 'The Rich One' laughed.

"I'm not going to hurt you centaur. What I really wanted was a chat," A range of emotions raged through Bane. Anger, curiosity, mostly anger.

"You killed my father!" He bellowed.

"No I didn't," The Rich One responded, indicating a figure behind Bane. Sure enough, Bane's father was standing right there, frozen in time just like the rest of their surroundings. Bane spun around immediately and charged in the direction of his father, yet the Rich One stood in the way.

"Tsk Tsk," the god-like figure chided, waggling his finger, comprised of refined white. "No my dear centaur, there is a reason I singled you out and asked for a chat," he explained.

"But you just said that this was an unexpected meeting," Bane explained, his face registering befuddlement.

"It was, my dear centaur. But, a long time ago, almost before I can remember, I was approached by Centaurus, the first centaur," the Rich One began. "He told me that one day, a son of mine, that would be persecuted and harassed for his heritage, in a time where my children wouldn't be born, would be taught a certain technique that would save the planet."

Bane stood perplexed, why would such a powerful figure, seek a conversation with him of all people and tell him about this nonsense of saving the planet.

"Centaurus told me to seek out the centaur with the perfect knowledge of astrology, mythology, strength, intelligence and belief."

"You believe that person is me?" Bane asked.

"Yes, my dear centaur. I sense a inkling within you. I sense an urge about mysticism, mythology, astrology woven through every fiber of your body. Your beliefs, intelligence and strength far outstrip any centaur that I have ever encountered. I believe that the job is yours."

"M-m-mine?" Bane stammered.

"Yes Bane, yours."

"What is this plan you wish to tell me about?"

"Oh, you will know when the time is right. I know it," The Rich one said. With that, he pressed a finger to Bane's temple, and knowledge and information seared through Bane's mind, etching the finest details within the crevices of the brain. Teaching, instructing, learning. Learning the contingency.

With that, the memory faded.

"Woah," was my only response upon seeing that, the experience must've been terrifying, yet exhilarating.

"Yeah, I met Hades that day, and he foretold of this, it was written in the stars."

"I know that, but what made you hate demigods so much? You seemed so furious when I told you?"

"No, I don't have a grudge against demigods. I've actually never encountered a demigod. But, after my encounter with Hades, he's told me to be watchful. But, I've never had any encounters, it's just that some of my fellow American centaurs have had some poor encounters with demigods, and I just guess word got round. I don't have a grudge against them per say, but I'm not exactly fond of them. Except Hades, I like him as I just said."

"Okay then, what's this plan, you cut the memory before you found out."

"Well then, let me tell you."

 **Hazel:**

"When is Nico getting back?" I voiced out loud. It was almost half an hour since his disappearance with Umbridge. I mean how long can it take, and we're running out of time. I thought to myself.

"We still don't have a way to get there?" Hermione explained, to a Harry that was almost beside himself with fury that they couldn't find a way to help with Sirius.

"What options do we have Hermione?" Harry bellowed. "Sirius is running out of time, and none of us can formulate a plan!"

"Wait," Hermione said, her face scrunching into an expression of utmost concentration. "What about thestrals?"

"Hermione, you can't even see thestrals, how are we gonna use them?" Harry said.

"I hope that they stay invisible," Hermione said darkly. As if on cue, my brother materialized in the middle of the room, looking no worse for wear, but looking terrified.

I collapsed on him, adding pointless weight as he collapsed in the centre of the room.

Harry pounced on Nico. "Nico, you're a son of Hades. Hades is the god of death. Thestrals are an omen of death. You think you can summon some so we can get to the Ministry?" Harry giddily, yet forcefully explained.

"Uh sure," Nico said, shrugging his shoulders, his terrified expression dissolving. "But first, let's go outside, it'll be easier."

Nico then walked out of Umbridge's office, flanked by Leo, who seemed to have even more pent up energy.

We all followed suit, but Leo paused outside the door, doing some sort of freakish dance.

"What are you trying to do Leo?" I curiously asked.

"Wha?" Leo asked, before promptly looking down at his muscles freaking out, almost if he didn't know. His face fell, before he quickly recomposed himself, and I grinned questioningly, silently asking for an answer.

"I was uh—surprising you. Yeah," he made up. I knew he was lying, but put it down to his regular cheek, and strolled on. A few minutes later, we had arrived by the edge of the forest, and waited while Nico was sorta doing a thing, maybe to summon Thestrals. I have no clue.

Nico then closed his eyes and shifted his weight slightly to the right, and drove his hands outwards. He then brought both his hands down and conjured 6 tiny balls of energy. If it was possible, Luna, Neville and Ginny's eyes bulged out even further, almost jumping out of their sockets.

"What's he doing?" A voice echoed from behind me. Almost instantly, I spun around and drew my cavalry sword and put my fingers to my mouth, trying to whistle Arion, only to be greeted by Reyna's solemn face. She looked worried at Nico, and I didn't see why. He looked perfectly calm – no problem whatsoever.

"He's summoning some animals so that these lot can save someone." Reyna's brow creased in bewilderment.

"Who are they?" she asked.

"Oh, they're friends of Harry's. We kind of revealed our powers to them," I sheepishly explained.

"They're good people. Right?"

"Definitely, they can definitely be trusted," I enthused.

"Then, I won't have to kill them," she explained, smiling.

"Where's the rest of the Twelfth Legion? Praetor," I added, as an afterthought.

"They, along with the Camp Half-Blood are lining the forest with traps, as our initial line of defense. Centurion," she said, grinning at her cheek. "Oh my god," she gasped out. "How did Nico do that?" she said, indicating the six equine figures that had materialized from Nico's balls.

Oh god that sounded wrong.

"Well," I began, "Those are Thestrals, and in the Wizarding World they are symbols of death, and Nico, being a child of Hades, can summon, communicate and control them,"

As if on cue, Nico then bent down, in front of the first thestral and whispered something.

The thestral then whinnied and nodded in appreciation, before turning to Percy and bowing, and Percy cupped his hands to his ears, almost in relief.

"Thank god," he breathed out, "A horse that doesn't cuss like Arion."

"Hey Percy," I said, in a simpering tone. "What did you say about Arion?"

Percy went pale, and responded, "Uh, Uh…"

"Percy?" Annabeth asked, snapping his out of his trance and a sigh of relief escaped from his mouth.

"Yeah Annabeth?"

"Why did you cup your hands to your ears if you communicated telepathically with the thestrals?""

"I dunno," was all Percy said, before an argument broke out between the wizards.

"Nico, why'd you summon six? I only need one!" Harry shouted.

"Well, we'll need three Harry. Don't you even dare think that we'd let you do this by yourself," Hermione said, looking slightly shaken, but determined nonetheless.

"Four Hermione," Ginny said, scowling angrily.

"All six of us should really go," Luna serenely explained.

"Don't make a fool of yourselves, not all of us can go!" Harry exclaimed. "Look, Ginny, Luna and Neville," he said, pointing to the three of them, "You can't all go. This is my problem. No one elses."

This was simply followed by more outraged mumbling.

"Harry," Frank explained, "The prophecy," he explained, looking Harry dead in the eye. Harry flinched and clapped his hand towards his scar, before sighing deeply.

"Fine, it's your guys' choice," Harry groaned out, before turning to the Thestrals. "Grab one and get on."

Slowly, one by one, the wizards mounted their steeds. Luna seemed to have the least struggle, presumably having done something similar on her, well, less than normal escapades.

Harry though, had a bit more trouble, his hand wound around the mane of the thestral, and attempted to pull his foot over its back, but found that he didn't have the capability to stretch that far. Instead, he jumped off a near tree stump, and landed clumsily on the horse's back.

Neville was flopping and heaving his body across the thestral, but was less than fortunate when he caught his leg on his robes and fell down into a sagging heap. On his second attempt, of using raw power to haul himself up, he succeeded, collapsing onto the horses hind-quarters.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny however, being unable to see the Thestrals, stood open-mouthed, staring at what seemed like Harry, Luna and Neville levitating.

"How're we supposed to get on?" Ron asked. "We can't see the damn things."

"I've got a solution," I piped up, and the three rotated around. "I can cast the mist and make them temporarily visible, they should most likely stay visible for the rest of your flight though," I reasoned.

They nodded in acknowledgement, and I quickly summoned my strength and wove a mist curtain that surrounded the equine figures and made them visible, at least I think they did. But, my uncertainties were quelled when Hermione and Ron erupted into wide grins, and began to mount their stallion.

After a few minutes, which constituted of several swear words, screams of frustration and screams of fear from Hermione. This concluded with all six of them sitting jitterily on their thestrals. Nico, along with Percy conveyed to the thestrals the general message of, _Get to the Ministry of Magic_

Ron then, almost screamed out but then spoke really slowly, "Why have they disappeared Hazel?"

Before I could say anything in response, the thestrals took off into the fading light, accompanied by a foul-mouthed Ron.

The rest of the group looked at me.

"What?" I asked, "They'll survive."

Percy then muttered something under his breath, before taking off, walking alongside Reyna and we followed suit.

"Reyna, is the Twelfth Legion ready?" He asked.

"Yes Percy. Is Camp Half-Blood ready?" she asked, looking at Nico.

"Yup," Nico said, "They're just a bit closer to the forest, lining it with traps."

"Same with ours," Reyna said, knitting her eyebrows.

"Then let's go," Percy said, before marching ahead.

I honestly thought they were being extremely carefree and laid-back despite the incoming situation.

Me? Well, I wasn't exactly mellow right now, but knowing that we had fought a war with Gaea, how bad could this be? Honestly.

"You're not okay Leo!" Piper shouted.

Everyone immediately whipped around at Piper clapped her hand to her mouth. I saw Piper, Frank and Leo huddle in a tiny circle, talking about something, and Piper seemed to object with something.

"Piper, everything okay?" Jason asked, in a concerned tone.

"Yes. Nothing's wrong," Piper sweetly responded. I could hear her tone laced with charmspeak, and everyone's face turned slack for a moment, except for Reyna and me.

I cast her a look, and had a silent conversation with just our eyes.

 _Do you know what's wrong?_

 _No Idea._

 _We'll talk later._

 _It has something to do with Leo, I'm sure._

"Hey Reyna!" I heard someone shout, snapping everyone out of their daze and we looked towards the voice.

I scanned the ground and saw a group of about 50 heavily armored demigods, clad head to toe in a piercing gold coloration. I saw Dakota, striding up towards us. He took a quick sip from his flask of Kool-Aid before wiping it on his arm, a useless attempt to rid his lips of that permanent red stain.

"Hi Dakota," Reyna crisply responded. "Is the Legion ready?"

"Yes Praetor, we have finished lining the forest with traps. The others from Camp Half-Blood are a bit further down, and they added a few more layers of defense," he said, grinning madly.

"Good," Reyna uttered. "We'll be setting up a defensive structure, Camp Jupiter on the left side, and Camp Half-Blood on the right, with The Seven in the middle."

"I'll be commanding Camp Half-Blood," Nico said, "I assuming you'll be doing the same with Camp Jupiter?" he asked, indicating Reyna, who nodded in acknowledgement

"Dakota, get the Legion over here. I'll help. Nico get Camp over here, and you lot," she said, indicating the seven of us – get ready."

Reyna walked off with Dakota and Nico shadow-traveled towards the rest of them.

Frank, Piper and Leo huddled together and resumed their heated arguing.

I walked towards Jason, Percy Annabeth and Hazel, who were all talking about how they were going to do.

"Hey Hazel," Annabeth said, "We were just talking about our game-plan, but Jason here, seems to know but won't share."

I gave Jason a deep glare, and he sighed deeply.

"Okay, so in my dreams I saw a Titan. It was Krios."

"The Titan you fought on Mount Orthys?" Percy asked.

"Yeah him. I dread facing him," Jason admitted. "Last time, I almost died."

"Reyna said you did fine?" I asked, worried.

"That was a lie. I barely defeated him," Jason murmured out.

"You beat him once Jase, you'll do it again," I said.

"There's also one more thing," Percy said, and everyone's attention went to him.

"What is it Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth inquired.

"Hyperion. He's also there," Annabeth went pale.

"He's another Titan?" I asked.

"Yeah, the last time I only beat him because of Grover and my friends, dozens of Nature Spirits died," Percy breathed out.

"C'mon guys," Annabeth said. "We've been against impossible odds before, if anything, this is doable, we've done stuff like this before."

 **Leo:**

Stupid Piper. Stupid Frank. There was nothing wrong with me, yet, while everyone else was suiting up in armor, I had to wait till the end, all because of Piper guilting me.

Just because my arm had momentary, insignificant spasms at random intervals didn't mean that I would be doing anything wrong. I said that, just as my body was overcome with convulsions and I collapsed on the ground. I knew I was lying to myself, but I couldn't let my friends just fight without me.

So, I plucked my miserable self off the ground and grabbed the breastplate that I was designated. I was told that the Greek armor was made to make the wearer look more muscular and intimidating, but didn't offer as much protection as Roman armor, but allegedly, the Hephaestus Cabin had been working overtime to increase the armor's strength and durability. I appreciated my cabin mates a ton. Nonetheless, I put it on as quickly as someone with arms that only functioned half as properly would be able to. I looked and saw Hazel was tired. No wonder, she had just cast a massive mist curtain that was meant to obscure this whole scene, but she was tough. Tougher than me for sure.

I strapped on my greaves, which were also made of Celestial Bronze, same with my helmet and breastplate. It was supposed to differentiate between the Greeks and Romans, but ours was a darker shade. I had a sneaking suspicion that it was Celestial Bronze mixed with Imperial Gold, and I could feel that in addition to my Cabin's improvements, this, by far would be the greatest change.

Smirking slightly, I put on my stuff. I put on my helmet which had a red plume on the top.

I looked around, and saw everyone else having already put on their armor and standing a battle formation. I saw Camp Jupiter to our left and Camp Half-Blood to our right. We were standing on a slightly elevated hill that gave us an excellent view.

Percy was standing directly in the center, with Riptide drawn and a circular shield resting on his left arm, with inscriptions and picture on it. I instinctively that it was from Tyson.

To his left was Annabeth, who had brandished her knife and was leaning slightly towards the right, her grey eyes more prominent than ever. To her left, was Frank, standing tall with his bow drawn and an arrow in his hand, ready to be shot.

To his left, was Hazel, who looked tired from creating a mist curtain behind us. But, her eyes burned with a passion and her cavalry sword drawn and placed slightly to her right. She looked impatient, and I knew why. She had called for her horse: Arion, but he still wasn't here.

To Percy's immediate right was Jason, his Imperial Gold gladius, extended and passing through both of his hands. His lip was curled and his scar almost vanished.

To Jason's right was Piper, her hair cascading down her face. Katoptris was brandished in her right hand and a determined look there.

To her right was me, and I looked like shambles, I was sweating, and I knew I couldn't fight. Piper gave me a contemptuous glance, and I nodded subtly, acknowledging that I wasn't going to fight. My hammer was brandished, passing through both of my hands, and the head being in my left.

We all shared a glance, knowing we were fighting a battle. I looked to my right and saw Nico, in black battle armour, with an intimidating skull-shaped helmet. His skull ring was prominent as was his Stygian Iron blade. He stood in front of the Camp Half-Blood battalion and had a smug, yet worried expression on his face.

To my left, I saw Reyna, who was dressed in the same Imperial Gold battle armor that clad the rest of the legion. She wore her Aegis, her purple cloak glittering in the fading sunlight. I locked eyes with her, and she subtly nodded.

I closed my eyes and briefly opened them, catching another glance at the pale sun, before opening my eyes wide and staring towards the woods. My ears pricked up, on alert and it was then. It was then when I heard the call, and a loud yell emanate from the forest.

 **Unknown:**

Scurrying through the brambles wasn't easy. Especially for me. My feet hurt, but I had been ordered. Could I trust him? I didn't know.

I continued to bound across the frigid landscape, due to no snow forming, despite the intense cold, something I had never seen before. I scratched my head. He said that he needed me. He called my name.

I looked to the sky, and saw the dying light. I sat down, causing a cloud of dust to rise from the soil.

"Goodbye Sun," I murmured out. "Soon time to say hello to Stars."

I picked myself back up, who knew how much time they had left. I knew that I had to do whatever I could. I needed to stop their plan. I needed to help them defeat them.

I stabilized myself, before running again and not stopping. Before long, I saw the outline of a big house in the distance. I stopped and caught my breath. I was almost there.

 **Cliffy. Ooh Yeah. I love it. I absolutely adored this chapter, I had so much fun writing the build up to the battle especially. And the scene where Leo was looking at everyone. Their arrangement caused my heart to melt (If anyone knows why they're arranged that way um. 10 Points to your house?). So, stuff has happened. I bet all of you can guess the last part and what's going on.**

 **Anyways, you know what I said about the last chapter being the longest? This one is much longer. Yes, I do realise how long it took me to bring this out, but… I hope it was worth the wait!**

 **Thanks for everything,**

 **~RedGods**


	30. Battle of the Ages

**Chapter 30: Percy**

I was awfully aware of all my surroundings. I felt the cool breeze, ripple across the field and lick the land; I heard the sharp, deep breaths of my friends all standing together, ready; I saw the green canopy, home to a plethora of animals and plants.

I did a last-minute check of the armour. Yes. It was all good. One thing I found interesting, was that we had very minimal protection around our shoulders and neck. Everything else was protected well though.

I was ready.

I closed my eyes, and imagined the battle that was about to unfold. I inhaled sharply, before exhaling slowly, calmly. I flicked my eyelids open and a rush of light entered. I looked at my friends, locking eyes with each and every one of them, determined to stay together – till the very end.

"You ready?" I muttered, my voice beginning to shake.

"Yes," they all responded, resonating with my cause, all except Leo. He was too busy looking around, staring at Reyna and the legion. Staring at Nico and camp.

I too found my eyes drift across. _No_. I chided myself. I had to keep concentrating. I sighed out, and stared at the forest. My pupils began to shrink in the dying light. I took one last look at the sun, and turned my head upwards. Quickly, I snapped my neck back to the woods and braced myself for the call.

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" was all I heard. It was the most hideous sound that would probably be heard for centuries to come. It sounded like metal scraping, slowly and agonizingly up and down a chalkboard. The sound sent shivers of discomfort rattling through my bones. I cupped my hands to my ears to nullify the sound, and I saw chaos erupt around us as many of our comrades tried to do the same. All except for Leo, he seemed to be confused, but after all, it was Leo.

Soon, the sound subsided, only to be greeted by a loud yell from the forest, it sounded human-like, but I couldn't be sure. Whatever it was, it couldn't be as bad as that previous noise.

I heard Reyna distinctly shout something in Latin, and I saw the response. A battalion of arrows were drawn, and bowstrings were drawn taut.

From the edge of the forest, I saw a black mass erupt from the foliage. I saw dracanae, telekhines, hellhounds, and many creatures, too innumerable to name and identify began to surge out of the forest.

" _Surculus_!" Reyna screamed, power coursing through her voice, encouraging and inspiring her comrades. A wave of arrows soared through the air, an arc of destruction with the power to annihilate these monsters.

The first wave of monsters were cut down by the projectiles, but they were only succeeded my another group. They marched valiantly forward, and congregated at the entrance to the forest, only to be disintegrated by the columns of Greek fire. The green substance exploding upwards, and torching anything in the nearby area. It scorched the treetops and charred the ground and we still hadn't moved. We watched motionlessly as the next chain succumbed to the power of the fire. One by one, these terrors kept wading forward, only to be incinerated by the emerald inferno.

Thousands of monsters must've died, and the traps seemed never-ending. We watched for what felt like lifetimes, seeing the rise and fall of the blaze that ravaged the Greek fiends.

The monsters kept strolling to their demise. _Why?_ I thought to myself. _Why would they do something like that?_ My train of thought was extinguished by a triumphant roar emanate from the forest. I saw a behemoth of a Laistrygonian Giant, who towered far above the canopy thunder in excitement? I couldn't place the emotion. On either side of him were two others, identical in height and stature next to him. Their skin was an ugly brown, and their hair was disheveled and tangled. What probably disgusted me most was a tattoo on the middle one's arm. It read _J.B. luvs Babycakes_ , followed by a picture of a monstrous hellhound. What would he have told the guy at the tattoo parlour? I smacked myself. J.B. not Joe Bob. He had tried to tear up my school, and well, he succeeded. Oh god. Were those. Oh yup. That was _Marrow Sucker_ and _Skull Eater_. Accompanied with similar tattoos, just their names substituted with their hellhounds' names. _M.S luvs Swagdude_. I mentally facepalmed and cringed at their names.

"Percy Jackson!" Joe Bob bellowed. "It has been a long time. You remember dodgeball?" he roared out.

"Yes. Vividly," I sighed out.

"Well," Marrow Sucker explained.

"Let's play!" Skull Eater concluded.

Without further ado, the three giants plucked up a random monster and threw it at us. Joe Bob flung a random dracanae at me. Marrow Sucker threw an innocent telekhine at Hazel. And Skull Eater shunted a hopeless gryphon at Jason.

My muscles responded and I slashed riptide in a sideways arc, splitting the dracanae into two clean halves. Jason ducked under the gryphon, dodging its talons and impaling it in the gut with his gladius. Hazel, awkwardly stabbed with her cavalry sword, still exhausted from her previous ordeal of creating a mist curtain. By sheer luck, she smacked the telekhine with the side of her blade, straight into Frank, who shot an arrow. Killing it instantly and all three monsters dissolved into golden dust.

This didn't discourage the Laistrygonians, instead they plucked up another monster and proceeded to send them flying in our general direction. Continually, we stabbed, slashed and impaled dozens of airborne terrors.

"Why are they mad at you Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. "You know them?"

"How do you not remember Annabeth?" I chided. "You were the one that saved me. Well along with Tyson," I added as an afterthought.

"Which time?" Annabeth said, smirking towards me.

"Watch," I said, my eyes darting towards the poor ventus and I cleaved upwards, dissolving his form into golden dust. I cast a quick smirk towards Annabeth, who returned one with equal vigour. We were slowly gaining inch by inch in the general direction of the mammoth creatures.

Soon, we were only meters in front of them. I cast a quick glance to my left and right. I saw Nico dueling a Scythian Dracanae, and Reyna fighting a pair of Giant Badgers. The fight appeared to have turned to melee, except for the Apollo campers, who continued to rain death, destroying legions of monsters.

"Finally, a fist fight," Joe Bob breathed out.

"Stop," I said. Marrow Sucker, who was in the middle of his swing stopped, and blinked awkwardly in my direction.

"Just a quick question," I asked. "Where is Babycakes?" I wondered.

"Oh," Joe Bob said, grinning evilly. "My pet hellhound is never far away."

"I know. I'd just like to meet them. That sound's glorious," I sarcastically said. However, he must've not been familiar with sarcasm, or he just wanted to kill me. Probably the latter.

"I'd like you to meet them," he said, his grin widening.

The three giants all clapped, and before them, three hellhounds materialized. They were large. even for hellhounds. Most hellhounds were about two meters in height, but this triplet were easily three to three and a half meters. Still, they probably looked like a slightly large pet to these giants. The most disturbing part? A collar fashioned out of bone spelling out their names. I didn't know which was scarier: the collar, or the hellhound themselves.

Hazel cast me a look like _you just had to. Didn't you?_ I looked around, and that looked seemed to be pretty popular with everyone.

"Chill guys," I said. Smirking inwardly I put my hands to my mouth, just as the giants called for attack. I blew sharply, and instead of a whistle that I wished for, I spat onto my fingers. The saliva was splattered all over

"Percy?" Frank asked.

"Don't worry Frank!" Annabeth exclaimed, promptly, definitely realizing what I was going for. She seemed to trust me. Well, she did before a hellhound toppled her.

"ANNABETH!" I screamed. I bounded off of the hellhound's leg and spun like a top. I situated myself in an awkward position, to be expected from just flipping. I gripped Riptide hard, and sliced into the scruff of her neck, and I felt the bone crack from my force. Babycakes promptly disintegrated, not before howling in pain. This howl was superseded by the howl of Joe Bob.

"YOU KILLED MY BABYCAKES!" He bellowed. In a rage, he toppled towards me. He was about one and a half to two times my height and was definitely intimidating. I stole a glance at Annabeth, to find her glaring at me. I saw that the skin on her arm was beginning to peel. It didn't appear to be shredded by the hellhound's claw.

This time, I put my fingers to my mouth and blew sharply twice. On the second time, the sweet whistling sound trumpeted from my lips and I knew she was coming. In a few seconds, Joe Bob closed the distance but just before his strike could connect, he was greeted by a dark shape, the size of a large garbage truck.

"Mrs O'Leary!" I shouted. My hellhound headbutted Joe Bob, sending him tumbling in the opposite direction and a whole colony of telekhines disappeared under him. She was clad in armour, and looked like she was bred for war. Immediately after, she jumped towards me and covering me in a thick layer of her slobber, her shaggy coat bouncing on my skin. Thankfully, the metal didn't come into contact with my skin "Yeah yeah, I love you too," I responded.

"Do ya think you can keep him occupied?" I asked, glancing around, seeing the rest struggling with the combination of their giant and his hellhound. She woofed loudly, and bounded towards the tiny giant (in comparison). I rushed to the aid of Frank and Hazel, while Annabeth ran to Jason and Piper's aid.

Frank was dueling the hellhound by transforming into a Grizzly. _Canada_. I thought to myself. However, while a normal grizzly would be about the same height as a hellhound, these were taller and Frank was getting slapped about. His fur was grimy from rolling in the mud, but he looked slightly tired but not really worse for wear. Meaning, that the hellhound hadn't landed a solid chomp. Hazel was kiting the giant and pestering him with insults. She looked anxious, and I could sympathise. However, right now, I believed that Frank's situation was more dire. Not because he was more injured. Really because after we could three man the giant.

"Percy!" Frank shouted. I snapped my head towards him, indicating to him that I was listening.

"Yeah?"

"Blind the hellhound, then I can kill him!" he said. He was pinned under the hellhound, with his bow drawn.

I nodded, and jumped towards the hellhound. I extended my arm, and raked it across the hellhound's face, and I turned down and did an epic landing.

I heard a howl, but I also heard Frank's angry groan. I flicked around, and saw that I had blinded the hellhound. Sorta. It's left eye was unable to be used anymore, but its right was as good as ever. All I had seemed to do was aggravate it even more. This was proven, but the hellhound cleaving it's claws across Frank's face.

Frank managed to choke through the pain of a claw to the face and drew his bowstring. He let his dart fly. Subsequently, the hellhound shrieked in pain and drew away. Frank bounded up, and quick as a cheetah, his hand went to his quiver and drew another arrow. He released his in a heartbeat, and it hit just under the hellhound's collar. Immediately, the dog-like figure withered away, into a golden heap.

"Frank!" I exclaimed. "Are you okay?" I apologized.

"I'm fine," Frank said, tilting his head, exposing a single scar, shallowly cutting into his cheek. I breathed a sigh of relief, between Annabeth and Frank, both of them had been so nearly severely injured because of me.

"Hey Percy," Frank said, looking at me. "I'm fine."

"Percy! Frank!" Hazel shouted. I whipped around, to see Hazel and Marrow Sucker engaged in a duel, cavalry sword on fist. It was clear that Hazel was going to lose.

Marrow Sucker back handed her, Hazel flew a few meters, and collapsed into a heap.

"Hazel!" Frank screamed. He bent over and morphed into an eagle. He took off at breakneck speed towards Hazel. However, a blur went and snatched her up. Frank morphed back into a human and pulled another arrow from her quiver. This one looked slightly odd, it had a heavy pointed tip, and looked similar to a hydra arrow. However, instead of a nose-cone of a rocket's tip, it was liked a barbed arrow, with imperial gold tendrils protruding from its sides. It appeared to be designed to imbed in the skin.

Frank let the arrow fly, and it embedded itself in the giant's skin. The giant roared in agony, but his volume only increased. I saw the arrow push itself further into the skin and completely disappear.

Frank then ran towards him and drew his gladius. The imperial gold blade was just about to enter the hide of the giant, safe for the fact that the giant had already frozen in place, and was in the process of crumbling into the familiar monster dust. Behind his body, Hazel emerged, covered in the collapsing monster dust. Frank ran towards her and knocked the wind out of her in a tight embrace.

"Air," Hazel choked out.

"Oh yeah," he sheepishly said.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, a friend helped me out," she said, pointing behind her. Her friend? It was the mighty horse Arion. His brown coat was scraped liberally with grime. His black mane was flicked around and licked his ears.

I heard his voice in my head, and it was plagued by swear words to the point where I was severely tempted to wash his mouth with soap.

I basically tuned out because of this, and engaged in a conversation with the profane horse.

The general point that I got across was that Arion saved Hazel.

A loud crack erupted behind us and I saw Jason raising his arms upwards. The lightning reduced Skull Eater to a smoking crater. So Skull Eater and Marrow Sucker were both dead. Joe Bob? Well, I saw Mrs O'Leary whaling on him, and he followed his mates to Tartarus.

"Finally," Annabeth breathed out. "Does anyone have some ambrosia?"

"Yeah, I think that we all basically need some ambrosia. Frank had a thin cut on his cheek, but Annabeth. What? Her skin was shredded, I swear that it wasn't that bad. Annabeth took a piece of Ambrosia that Piper brandished, after she took one herself, passed it to Frank who wolfed down the golden slice.

"Wheres Leo?" I asked, as we were backpedaling, to get more in line with our compatriots.

"Behind us," Piper said, indicating Leo on the ground.

"You okay Leo?" Annabeth called, talking to Leo who was a good twenty meters behind us.

"Yeah I'm fine, my leg just hurts."

Annabeth nodded, before opening the packet of Ambrosia given to her by Piper. She sprinted backwards, and passed a square to Leo.

"Don't move, we can't risk a broken foot. Trust me I know," she said, wincing. _Probably remembering the catacombs under Rome_ I thought. "Just stay off of your foot for a while."

Leo nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I swept my head around the battlefield and took a moment to observe the battle. It wasn't going too poorly. The Camp Half-Blood forces were thinning, but anyone who was injured was at the back, and was receiving medical assistance from some of the Apollo Cabin.

The enemies were scattered all over the place. There were small skirmishes erupting everywhere. Clarisse and her Apollo Cabin friends were whirling through a horde of Earthborne, the remainder of the Apollo Cabin, that wasn't busied with healing, were shooting Sonic Arrows into the thick of the mayhem, and disorientated and destroyed a mass of telekhines. Connor and Travis, accompanied with a few of the Hermes' Cabin were dashing about the enemy, slashing, stealing and generally disrupting and causing mass mayhem. I caught sight of Reyna and Nico, back to back dueling a set of Hyperboreans. Hyperboreans? How did I miss those?

"Frank!" I exclaimed. Frank's head snapped around, and he had a puzzled expression.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think you could ping those Hyperboreans? Reyna and Nico look pinned down!"

No more words were exchanged, Frank nocked an arrow to his bow and let it fly. While in its flight, the arrow split down into the middle, into two distinct arrows. They pierced the Hyperborean's icy flesh, and the thirty foot monster staggered. Frank had nocked a second arrow, of similar nature but, before the arrow was let loose, a lightning bolt descended from the heavens, and struck the second one. However, this was less than fortunate. The giant, disoriented, began to slowly fall forward. Reyna stared up into the giant's face, and dove to her right. Nico, unaware of the five ton creature descending upon him, continued to hack at the firsts' legs.

"Nico!" Reyna shouted. Nico whipped around, his black eyes widened. Instead of shadow-traveling or diving away. He planted his greaves into the slippery, muddy soil and gripped his Stygian Iron sword with both hands. He twisted slightly and drove his blade into the pale blue polar region embedded in the Hyperborean giant's chest. The blade sliced through its skin like butter.

Nico then dived to the side, and let the giant collapse on its brethren. The first giant collapsed under the weight of the second Hyperborean, which was subsequently turned into dust. The initial giant, now covered in monster dust, began to rise, but Reyna and Nico leapt onto its chest.

"Ow!" Nico exclaimed, as he slipped on the frigid and slippery surface of the giant's skin. Reyna extended her hand and Nico grasped it, pulling himself up. After a brief nod, they both brandished their swords, contrasting in colour.

Nico's onyx blade exuded a black aura of death, and it was true, any monster vanquished was consumed by the obsidian field and had no chance of returning from Tartarus.

On the other hand, Reyna's sword spread a golden hue, almost enchanting any object in the nearby vicinity. Reyna's eyes flashed. Her sword transformed into a long thin spear, yet again comprised of imperial gold – safe for the tip, which appeared to be comprised of imperial gold shards, combined with something else. Maybe celestial bronze? Maybe it was like _Backbiter_.

As the giant looked like it had adjusted to the foreign weight began to rise once more, but was halted by Nico and Reyna's conjoined attempts to end him. Sword and spear both pierced his vulnerable, squishy eyeball. The result turning him into a pile of dust.

I flashed a smile at Nico, which he returned, before dashing off. The enemies seemed to be mimicking him, dashing away.

"Wait." I said, befuddled, "Guys, why are they dashing away into the forest?" I waited for someone to contradict me, but no one did, instead silently observing the retreating monsters.

I wasn't complaining, this gave us a chance to recuperate and tend to our wounded.

"A bit of help?" I heard Will shout. Immediately, I turned and began to walk at a brisk pace, my feet sloshing awkwardly against the moist soil. The rest followed. Leo, who appeared to have crawled back to this makeshift medical facility was on a provisional stretcher, structured of fronds of trees and long, straight branches of the surrounding trees.

A healer was on him, and I approached them.

"How is he?" I asked to the fair boy. I doubted he was from Camp Half-Blood as he was in Imperial Gold armour.

"There seems to be nothing inherently wrong with his leg, but he is burning up. I would recommend that he just sits down and takes it easy. If he is determined to re-enter the fray, he should probably keep his distance," he explained, gesturing to Leo, who was grinning awkwardly at me.

"You alright Perce?" he asked.

"I should be the one asking you that one," I chuckled out.

"I'm fine. Really. I think I'll just st—" he said, making a move to stand up

"No no no," I said, pushing him back down. "You need to rest. Only come back when we say so," I uttered, in a stern tone.

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he muttered, before relaxing.

"I looked around, and saw Nico helping Will around tending to the wounded. Almost every person was wounded in some manner, except for us seven. Katie had bad scrapes and bruises on her arms and legs. She began to spin a tale about how she was ambushed by a set of dracanae, and was elbowed by a demigod, but she was cut short by a scream.

I knew that scream anywhere.

"Annabeth!" I shouted, running in the general direction of the scream. I saw Annabeth huddle around something, accompanied by almost the rest of our group. "You alright?" I exclaimed, sliding next to her, soiling the pants that I had changed into.

Annabeth was sobbing, but she managed to shake her head. I looked towards the centre on this huddle, to see three Apollo medics rapidly rushing about, healing someone.

I saw his sandy blond hair, grey eyes, and immediately noticed it was a son of Athena. However, what differentiated this person from the rest, and was how I noticed, was the band that he wore around his arm. Unlike most campers, Malcolm Pace, being the genius that he was, wasn't satisfied with just having beads of the events. He had managed to create a slideshow on a wristband, depicting all the events that were shown on the beads. Right now, it was showing scenes of the Battle of Manhattan I thought it was fitting.

"Malcolm," I whispered "What happened?" I asked.

"Oh Percy. I simply took a knife to the back," he joked, but his tone was devoid of his usual mirth, instead he sounded like he was in pain.

"That's a mild way to put it," one of the healers said, gruffly. "Percy, he took a spear through the arm. Not just any spear. A poisoned spear."

"What happened Malcolm?" Annabeth sobbed out.

"Well, this is a nice role-reversal. Well, you see there was a troupe of Scythian Dracanae fighting us. We were drastically outnumbered, but the leader. Oh the leader. This leader was unconventional. Instead of having a sword or an axe, this one had a spear. A twelve-foot-long one," he said, trying to emphasise by moving his arm, but wincing with every movement. "It was going to impale Christian over here," he exclaimed, gesturing to another Athena camper. "But I jumped in front of him, and took the spear. It wasn't a full throw or anything, but it went straight through the skin, and the poison tip is still embedded in my arm."

"Move!" A voice shouted from behind me. I cleared a path and saw Will Solace barge through the crowd. "Someone get me some nectar!" he shouted in desperation. Instantly, the three healers that were working before catered to Will's need and brought him a flask of nectar.

Will cleaned out the wound with nectar, and handed an ambrosia square to Malcolm. However, instead of its usual golden colour, it was coated silver.

"Don't worry Malcolm," he sternly asserted. "It's just lathered in healing paste. Eat." He ordered. Malcolm grudgingly took the square and devoured the godly food.

"Someone get me a set of tweezers!" I immediately lunged and grabbed a set of tweezers. Will accepted the tools and began to work. He plunged the metal device into Malcolm's arm, and wiggled about, before shaking his head.

"It's too far in Malcolm," he said, referring to the poisoned barb. "I need more nectar, and a small dagger!"

"Will this do?" Annabeth asked, gesturing to her knife.

"Yes. Thanks Annabeth," Will said.

Will then poured more nectar into the wound, and cleaned out any residue with the godly liquid. After, the gripped Annabeth's knife, and motioned to dig to bullet from the arm, before preventing himself.

"Malcolm, you'll want to bite down on something. This is going to hurt." Malcolm then picked up a random piece of cloth, and bit down hard into it. Annabeth then extended her hand and clasped Malcolm's. He began to squeeze, in anticipation for the pain. Will then proceeded and inserted the knife into Malcolm's arm. The Athena camper moaned and screamed into his towel, and his hand, looked like it was going to snap Annabeth's into two. After several painstaking seconds, punctured solely by Malcolm's incessant screaming, Will had managed to dig the barb from Malcolm's arm.

Malcolm breathed out a sigh of relief, as the barb was extracted from his arm.

"You'll be fine Malcolm," Will said, finishing up by applying some silver paste around the wound and applying bandages in and around the entry point. "Just stay down for a while. Don't get back on your feet for a few hours at least. Normally I would cauterise the wound, but we're fresh out of fire."

"Yeah. Thanks Will," he muttered.

"Yeah, I've got a lot more to do. I doubt that we'll have more than half an hour. We've spent already twenty minutes. We need to get ready for another onslaught," he said, before wandering off to help around a bit more.

"You alright Malcolm?" I asked, optimistically.

"Better Percy. Not alright. But better."

"You'll be fine Malcolm," Annabeth exclaimed.

"I know," he responded, "Go bother someone else," he finally said. "I've had too much attention. Go! Shoo!" he exclaimed.

I looked at Annabeth before shrugging.

For the rest of the time, we walked around and talked and sympathised with some of the wounded and devised new strategies for defending.

 **Annabeth:**

"Get ready!" I called.

We were arranged for a second assault, we were arranged in a similar formation, with us six (seven, minus Leo). On the left stood the Twelfth Legion, their Imperial Gold armour. The light from the weakening sun had finally dispersed, leaving an almost miniscule shimmer emitted by the silver moon – now a crescent shape. Their armour glittered feebly, even in comparison to the rays from the dying light. It almost looked as if they were starved of their power. The same held true for Camp Half-Blood. Their Celestial Bronze armour, while still glittering in the pale moonlight, seemed to have lost its lustre. It was almost non-existent.

I turned my head to the frontal-most figures. Nico stood tall, his onyx armour seeming like the perfect camouflage, in the dull dark environment. He unsheathed his sword, and the aura given off from the Stygian Iron was intimidating. It seemed to drink in the darkness surrounding, and I fully expected Nico to shadow-travel much more. Even in the dying light, which cast long shadows, the night would cause his abilities to come to the forefront.

Reyna seemed to be much the same, safe for her now having Aurum and Argentum at her sides. Her dogs always unnerved me, their translations _Gold_ and _Silver_ were reflective of their appearances. I was also told that they could discern lies, and Reyna demonstrated this first hand. I was never really sure where the canines went once Reyna dismissed them, but I hadn't bothered to ask.

"KRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The battle-cry and screech pierced through the still night air. I resisted the urge to drop to my knees and clutch my ears upon hearing that terrible sound. The Hephaestus Cabin had scrounged Greek Fire and lined the forest with as many traps as they could muster, and their efforts were fruitful, with the initial onslaught from battalions of insignificant enemies. However, our calm before the storm was short lived.

"KRAAAAAAAAA!"

The scream erupted again, stinging my eardrums. This time, after the traps and our Greek Fire had been extinguished, I saw – not legions of dracanae and telekhines, but legions of greater threats: Hyperboreans, Gryphons, Venti, Hellhounds and even Manticores. However, the thing that bothered me the most was that initial scream. It made my stomach curdle. I felt like I had heard it before.

Before I could think about the situation further, the five demigods surrounding me leapt into action. Jason charged a pack of Venti. He leapt into the air and flew in a streamlined position, alternating between slicing the air with his gladius, and summoning crackling bolts of energy, sizzling his opposition. Frank and Percy charged together, Percy running at the forefront with Riptide drawn, and Frank staying slightly further back, his bow drawn and several arrows nocked towards the sieging Hyperboreans. Percy whistled, and Mrs O'Leary materialised from the shadows, and leapt into action, gnawing, knocking and generally causing mass panic among the Hyperboreans.

Hazel drifted towards the right and whistled for Arion. Arion, similar to Mrs O'Leary blurred into existence and Hazel mounted him. Hazel charged forward, drawing the attention of several hellhounds and gryphons. Arion easily outpaced the hellhounds, and Hazel made quick work of the ones in her immediate reach. She simply extended her cavalry sword, and the hellhounds began to disintegrate, in the dozens.

That left Piper and I, from the main pack that charged at us, all that was left were a pair of manticores, that were taking shots from long distance. They were currently being occupied by Clarisse, Connor and Travis. Despite this immediate threat, the two manticores seemed to be more focused on attempting to assail the forces further back, dealing with major threats of their own. Thankfully, those were the only two manticores.

Piper and I charged them, moving in tandem towards the great threats. Within a few seconds, we were dancing the manticore dance, along with Clarisse and the Stoll brothers. This 'dance' consisted of ducking the poisonous spines, and dodging the elongated tail. The manticores finally seemed to shift their attention onto us, and dodging the jabbing from their tail, and the spikes shot from them, well, it was difficult.

"Annabeth," one of the manticores drawled. "We meet again."

"Who are you? I've never seen you before?" I said, while dodging a poisonous spine from the chatty manticore.

"You don't remember?" he said, his drawling voice picking at my brain. "Oh well, I will enjoy killing you."

The nostalgic manticore darted forward and jabbed at me with his spine. I leapt to the side and ended up sprawling on the ground.

"Remember yet?" he snarled. "AHHH!" he screamed, jumping away, howling from the dagger now stuck in his shoulder.

"Get away from her!" Piper roared, no charmspeak present, simply anger. Piper offered me a hand and I leapt up, and faced him.

"Tsk," he said begrudgingly. "I thought you would be sharper daughter of Athena. After all, how could you forget the manticore who kidnapped you?"

"Dr. Thorn," I muttered out, clenching my fists behind my back and grinding my teeth.

"Yes. Me. Last time we fought, you had all your friends with you. What are you going to do now?"

"Her friends are here idiot." Clarisse grunted. I turned slightly to the left and saw Clarisse standing over a pile of golden dust.

"H – how how?" Dr. Thorn mumbled out.

"It's not that hard," Connor said, showing off a pendant that was dangling off of Thorn's neck. I assumed that the other Manticore was a protégé or family possibly.

"There's a lot you can do with a scary daughter of Ares," he exclaiming, indicating Clarisse, who looking amused. "And two incredible sons of Hermes," he said, indicating himself and his younger brother by placing a hand on latter's shoulder.

Dr. Thorn let out an annoyed shout and lunged towards Clarisse.

Without warning, I lunged towards the manticore. I brandished my knife, the celestial bronze tip glittering faintly from the moonlight. Clarisse, clad in her battle armour deployed her shield, which absorbed the blow, but took a heavy blow that left a dent in the Celestial Bronze.

I stabbed downwards, slicing into the lion torso. Dr. Thorn let out a blood-curdling scream and whipped around. Connor and Travis blurred next to Thorn and both spent an instant in the danger zone. In this singular instant they brandished identical celestial bronze daggers. They were slightly longer than mine, possibly an inch or two longer. They thrusted the daggers up into the underside of Thorn's humanoid face. They attempted to zip away, with Travis dashing towards the left of Thorn and Connor rushing past his right. However, Thorn's tail doubled back around and hooked Travis around the midriff. Manticores were fast too, Connor was pinned down under Thorn, and from first hand experience I knew the power of those claws.

"Don't move." Thorn proclaimed, his eyes shifting around from Clarisse to me. "One move and I will shred this one, and sting this one."

"I agree," Piper blurted out. "Don't move," she said, smirking slightly. " _Impedimenta!"_

In an instant, the manticore was frozen and reared up backwards. His grip on Travis, and his weight on Connor was released – allowing the two brothers to dash away.

"No!" Thorn shouted, once the charm had worn off, but the damage was already done. In a fit of anger, or a determination for revenge he lunged in Piper's direction. In an instinctual reaction, I charged in Piper's direction. Mid-way through his jump, the lion's torso twisted. This allowed me to slide under his frame, easy considering the muddy soil everywhere. While sliding under the lion, I gripped the underside of his coat, and propelled myself upwards. I kicked off of the ground, but, the mud that made it easier to slide made it harder to find a good spot which would provide me with the momentum to flip over. As a result, when I flipped backwards, I landed slightly forward than I would've like. My legs were positioned on opposite sides of his torso, much like I was riding an animal. The sudden weight caused him to fall to the ground.

"Déjà vu," he muttered. He brought his tail down in an arc, the tip of the stinger pouring with venom. I rolled to the side and off of his torso, but rotated under him, with my head to his right, and my leg inching forward, barely avoiding the sting.

"Foolish girl," he muttered. "I thought that you were intelligent," he chided. "I hope you know that a scorpion's sting doesn't harm the scorpion itself? I am immune to my venom."

"Oh I know. I didn't do this for you to sting yourself," I said, smirking. "I did it for you to disable your own stinger."

Without further ado, I flipped back around from this position and placed myself spread-eagled on the manticore's back, my chest and stomach pinning down the stinger. My legs were right around the back, and hooked around the base of the scorpion's tail.

"Déjà vu."

I stabbed my dagger downwards into the lion's mane, and Thorn screamed out in pain.

"Clarisse! I need your spear!" It was a testament to how much more she trusted and respected me these days that she didn't need any further encouragement, but simply passed me _Maimer_. The electrically charged spear hummed with power. I had to catch it with my left hand, and pushed it downwards into his mane once more, albeit with less force. The electricity coursed through the manticore's body, sizzling him. Finally, after more electricity had been released, Dr. Thorn's limp body fell to the ground.

"Well done Annabeth," he croaked out. "Good plan… however, not good enough to put me down."

Dr. Thorn's stinger whipped around slowly, and sunk into my shoulder, releasing the venom into my bloodstream. However, after delivering the first sting, the second was about to be administered into my agonising shoulder, before _SCHING!_ I saw the stinger be severed from the rest of the tail, the venom covered tip separated from the body. I saw Connor and Travis standing there. Piper then walked in this direction.

"Next time stay dead," she said, this time with charmspeak. But, her smile faded as the drove Katoptris deep into the mane of the manticore, followed suit by Connor and Travis' blades. After no more than three seconds of silence, the monster let out a final groan before succumbing and joining his protégé in Tartarus.

"AHHH!" I shouted, gritting my teeth from the pain. I knew that manticore venom wouldn't incapacitate or kill me, but it would cause a few hours of burning pain. Not excruciating pain, like back in the catacombs of Rome. But, it was bad enough to stop me from fighting at best capacity.

"Piper, do you have any ambrosia?" I asked.

"Yeah, let me get it," she said, digging into her pockets, hard to do with her armour. Eventually, she gave up and brandished her wand. " _Accio Ambrosia!_ " she chanted, and the packet of godly food whizzed out. She prised open the packet with her fingers and dug out the food. I devoured my slice, and I felt the throbbing pain fade slightly into the back. "I think you've had enough Ambrosia Annabeth," she said, picking up her knife from the pile of monster dust. I nodded, I wasn't a fan of spontaneous combustion, following the daughter of Aphrodite.

Having dealt with my own threat, I took a minute to survey our surroundings. Percy and Frank, who had obviously finished dealing with their Hyperboreans had gone and began helping Hazel. Frank, along with Jason was helping with the swarming Gryphons. Mrs O'Leary was wading through packs of hellhounds, while Percy and Hazel, were both mounted of Arion and were helping Percy's hellhound by defeating any of the canines that shadow-travelled behind them. I looked to the left, and saw Camp Jupiter in trouble. Reyna, along with Dakota was duelling a Hyperborean and Laistrygonian combination, and were narrowly avoiding getting frozen by the former's breath and being pummelled by the latter's fists. However, what worried me most was the legion. They were attempting to stay in formation, but were constantly assailed with barrages of rock and earth hurled at them by the battalions of Earthborn, and were even worse at dealing with the hellhounds that were shadow-travelling and harassing their archers in the back-line.

I believe that Camp Half-Blood would be in the exact same situation, except for one difference: Nico. Nico was an absolute battling machine. Under the cover of darkness, he was even more proficient. He was shadow-travelling around the battlefield, and was whirling like an unstoppable tornado of death.

He was wading through legions of dracanae and telekhines, destroying dozens with every strike, all the way, his Stygian Iron blade drinking in the power of his enemies.

Without hesitating, Piper, Clarisse, Connor, Travis and I went to aid the Twelfth Legion. Clarisse and I launched into action and began destroying legions of Earthborn. We whirled around, keeping back to back. Whenever, and Earthborn came to close, or was too slow to react, I dashed forward, and sliced at them. Instead of dissolving into golden dust, everytime we vanquished an Earthborn, it left behind a mound of clay. After several minutes, I was coated in a mixture of clay, which mingled with the sweat that clung to my face. Soon, it looked like we had helped, the hellhounds that were harassing the archers were being cut down by Connor and Travis, who had an eye for that sort of thing. Piper was causing mayhem with her charmspeak, asking many to lay down their weapons. Once they did, either she, or the legion charged in and cut them down.

"KRAAAAAA!"

Again, the call came. I turned around, and the monsters did the same. However, Nico didn't. Instead, he shadow-travelled and began to turn the tides even further in Camp Jupiter'. He mercilessly destroyed the remaining monsters in the blink of an eye. I turned back around and faced the forest.

"A-ROOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Another sound exploded from the forest.

From the forest, poured out a troupe of werewolves. Nico, who was standing beside me, shadow-travelled next to Reyna, who was looking at the werewolves with a burning hatred. Piper again ran through the legion, and stood alongside Nico and Reyna. I drifted back towards the centre – in between Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood. I stood next to Percy, and to his right were Jason, Frank and Hazel.

"KRAAAAAAA!"

The sound emanated again from the forest. I had a nagging suspicion that I had heard it before.

"Wait Percy. Is that? —" I began, before a colossal creature flew out of the forest.

It was the most hideous creature I had ever seen. She had a human head, with snakes for hair, and the parallels that I drew from her with Medusa were justified. She had a half-human body, similar to a centaur but lacking the majestic appearance. She instead had reptilian-like skin and a dragon half, accompanied by claws that probably could cut through solid steel. She had gigantic reptilian wings, which were dark in colouration. Like a manticore, she had a huge scorpion tail, dripping with venom. Where her halves meet, there was a horrible bubbling and morphine area, which produced heads around her, constantly changing and shifting; like a gruesome belt.

In addition to her morbid appearance, in her right hand, she brandished a whip. This fiery whip was barbed and studded with sharp, serrated edges. According to legend, a singular hit with the whip was able to incapacitate the Elder Cyclopes for several hours. In her left hand, she was holding a poisonous scimitar. The blades were glowing with a deadly greenish hue, and wisps of green vapour drifted across the battlefield.

"Kampê," I finished. I hadn't seen this despicable creature since the Battle of the Labyrinth. In addition to Kampê and the werewolf pack, out poured what seemed like the last horde of beasts: hellhounds, telekhines and dracanae and an all manner of monsters.

"KRAAAAAA!" Kampê roared. A similar roar went up from the monsters and they charged at us.

"GO!" Percy roared, his voice projecting all around the battlefield and deep into the night sky. Just like Kampê's call, the remaining campers gave a tremendous roar and charged. Percy, Jason, Hazel, Frank and I charged at Kampê, accompanied by some of Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. Nico, Reyna, Piper and about ten of Camp Jupiter faced up to the werewolf pack. The remaining ten or twenty demigods from Camp Jupiter ran all the way around us to help the remainder of Camp Half-Blood's forces fend off this monstrous army. Mid-way through my charge towards Kampê, I saw a distinct figure on the far right. I stopped and turned ninety degrees. There. I gritted my teeth. Kelli and her empousae friends were on the far right. They weren't even fighting, but simply watching the carnage begin to erupt.

I began to run in her direction, but I stopped myself. I saw the encampment way behind us. I didn't bring my Yankee's cap, but Malcolm brought it. I could use it to get the drop on them. I sprinted towards the encampment.

I ran up to Malcolm's beside and picked up my Yankee's cap. I dashed around the right.

"Annabeth?" someone asked. I turned around and saw Leo. He had moved from his bed on the extreme left. "Where are you going?" he asked.

"Just getting my hat to help," I confirmed. "It'll just provide me with an advantage."

Leo nodded, but he gave me a scrutinising look. "Get better soon," I said, before slapping on the cap and running towards the empousae. It was about sixty meters away, and I got there within ten seconds. I whipped off my hat.

Kelli slowly turned, and her form burned away, literally. She revealed her true empousa form and her flaming hair seemed to incinerate her human form.

"Well Annabeth. What is it?" She taunted.

"I'm here to kill you Kelli," I exclaimed. Immediately, I dashed forward, intent on slashing through her form. However, just before my Celestial Bronze dagger connected, one of her friends jumped in front of her and took the blow, and disintegrated.

"Well, if you say so. Don't interfere!" she added.

"Your funeral," I muttered.

Kelli this time lunged at me, and I stabbed upwards. Kelli dodged my blade and blurred behind me. She dug her claws deep into the surface of my skin, right on my shoulder. It was slightly above where Dr. Thorn had stung me, but it was close to the area and it reignited the pain.

"AHHHH!" I screamed out. I grunted loudly, as I elbowed Kelli in the hip wit my left hand. I twisted back around and stabbed at her with my dagger, but she literally teleported behind me. I thought that the wall of fire trick only worked to escape. But since it was Kelli, I should've seen it coming. She already had found my shoulder as a weak spot, and she continued to exploit it. Once again, she looped right around my back and dug her nails into my shoulder. This time however, I was too slow and she sunk her fangs into my shoulder. I howled in pain again. I somehow called on the power to turn around. I turned around and swept her legs out from under her. But, the slippery mud had caused me to topple down. Now, in excruciating pain, I was barely able to stand, and it was only through sheer willpower that I did it again.

Kelli disappeared in a wall of fire again. I anticipated this move, and turn around to face her. I thrust my dagger in the direction where she would appear. Sure enough, it worked. Just as Kelli materialised, my dagger sunk straight through her white skin.

"Third time's the charm," I muttered.

"No, not really," Kelli gasped out, her voice still taunting me. Kelli's arm reached out and clawed me in the face, and the sudden burst of pain was too much. I collapsed on the ground. The mud clung to my hair, and the back of my armour probably looked horrible.

"Good try Annabeth," Kelli taunted. "You almost killed me. But, you just weren't good enough."

 **This was the long-awaited battle sequence. As you can see, the sheer volume of the troops that are attacking Hogwarts is immense, to say the least. Well, you can probably draw a lot of parallels to the Last Olympian, and I made it that way on purpose. I also brought back a lot of familiar faces. Dr. Thorn, the Laistrygonians, which I thought were really cool. It's a shame that they weren't really involved much more. Of course, there's Kamp** **ê** **, who I also love as a villain for this. Then again there's all those expendable monsters that no one cares about. The confrontation between Kelli and Annabeth was also cool. Was it good? I hope so.**

 **I really developed Reyna and Nico's relationship. I see them as basically two of the most influential individuals from each camp and after the events of Blood of Olympus, I really think that they'd share sort of a Partners in combat.**

 **Well, this story is nearing its conclusion. Only two or three more chapters left. I hope you guys enjoy this. I know I had a lot of fun writing it.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	31. Skirmishes

**Chapter 31: Leo**

"Gods," I groaned out. The inflammation rising up through my torso, feeling like it was incinerating my insides. I felt as if it was progressively getting worse. My whole body was overcome with uncontrollable fits and convulsions. It was by far the worst I had ever felt. Every time that I would try to move, even to a minor degree, another spike of agony erupted through my skeleton. Well. It was a painful experience. To put it mildly. The scariest part? I felt the power coursing through my veins during every spike of pain. It didn't feel right. I had tried to suppress these conditions and these symptoms. But it was getting to a point where I doubted that any amount of willpower would be able to control my body. Well, control my body from the true effects that these symptoms were foreshadowing.

It was now affecting my vision. My eyesight was blurring. I felt my words begin to slur, but it was minimal. It had gravitated from occasional twitching and miniscule distresses, to constant, perpetual convulsions and muscle spasms. In addition to warm and cold disparities and a fluctuating temperature.

I felt even worse that I was basically abandoning my friends and my family. My family needed me, and I failed them when they needed me most. They needed my help while fighting this battle, and here I was. Sitting down, and battling some unknown illness.

A familiar figure sprinted in front of me and I recognised it as the daughter of Athena who scared me to Kingdom Come.

"Annabeth?" I asked, worriedly, scared that I maybe mistook someone else for her. Thankfully, Annabeth turned around and stared at me inquisitively. She was grasping her Yankee's cap and her face was streaked liberally with grime and clay. "Where are you going?" I asked, my words slightly slurring. I doubted she noticed, she looked so worried and preoccupied already.

"Just getting my hat to help," she confirmed. "It'll just provide me with an advantage."

I nodded but gave her a scrutinising look. Getting her hat? She had the hat in her hand. This was Annabeth. She'd never be wrong about something like that. Was it stress? Or was she hiding something? There was a way that her face was aligned that literally spelt out I'M TERRIFIED AHH! It was hardly surprising, given that a huge creature had just emerged out of the forest. But, I knew something was up. Maybe it was just my stomach being infected, or just my gut feeling.

"Get better soon," she uttered, before slapping on her cap and running off. She was invisible, but I knew I had to follow. There was something up. Immediately, I stepped out of this makeshift cot. I placed my bare foot on the muddy soil. I felt jolts of pain shoot up through my leg. I gritted my teeth and placed my second foot on the dirt. I felt a similar impulse of pain reach up and through my leg. My leg's buckled slightly, as my weight was shifted forward, I nearly avoided falling on my face. Which would've been horrible considering the mud. I barely managed to stumble forward, awkwardly placing my feet forward. I ambled out of our medical encampment and it was by sheer luck that no one stopped me.

Around sixty meters in front, there was the familiar daughter of Athena, enveloped by a group of empousa.

"KRAAAA!"

A call erupted to my frontal right, and I saw a hideous figure. It was like a cross-breed of a gorgon, a dragon and a human all combined in one horrible compact mix. How did I not hear her at one point or another? I was probably too busy writhing in pain. Speaking of writhing in pain, well, here it was. My body was wracked with a fit of pain. The pain was so intense: it was like someone was pressing a hot poker against my skin. Normally, heat wouldn't bother me, but recently it seemed like it was getting worse. I screamed gutturally in agony, and the burning sensation resided. Juxtaposed immediately, was a surge of vigour. I mustered the strength to pick myself back up and trudge forward, my feet squelching in the mud. I closed the gap between Annabeth and myself.

Only, around half-way there, the pain returned. The intensity seemed to have increased, but I tried to fight through it. I clamped my hand shut, squeezing with unbelievable force. I tightened my jaw, and ground my teeth to the point where they were no more than a paste. I was taught that relaxing and taking deep breaths was something that relieved pain, but I was running on pure adrenalin. These thoughts didn't come to me. All I did was try and fight through the eternal torment on my body.

Again, I pulled myself off the ground. I saw the fight erupt between Kelli and Annabeth. I knew that I had to intervene. I ran at top speed, and instead of interfering, I collapsed and went skidding through the slick mud. I only made ten meters at best. Time was running out. I leapt off the ground, and immediately, when I drew myself to full height, I was hit with the worst spurt of pain yet. The duration and sheer magnitude had increased by an unfathomable amount. I hit the deck, and this time I wasn't moving. It was like someone had driven a thousand hot nails into my skin at once. Not just pushed in, it was like they had taken a run-up and slammed them in with full force.

My muscles felt like they had gone into a state of paralysis. I couldn't feel my extremities, yet the odd thing was that I could move them. The pain was probably so intense that it was simply overloading my nervous system and my brain simply couldn't handle it. I felt slightly light-headed. I had fallen on my front again and cast my eyes forward.

Annabeth was now lying helpless on the ground, the impeding empousa troupe looking on in earnest. I opened my mouth to shout, maybe get their attention. However, no sound came out. It truly was a nightmare. I tried to force myself up, and bit by bit, inch by inch, I began to rise off the ground. I couldn't feel anything, the pain was overloading my senses. My vision was beginning to blur, my breathing increased, but it felt like no oxygen was actually being inhaled.

I just threw myself forward. I flung myself forward. Thankfully, there was a slight slope and I travelled the distance, landing between a very surprised looking Kelli and Annabeth.

"Who are you?" Kelli began. I didn't know whether to be ashamed or relieved. She had most definitely seen me, she just probably didn't care. "Oh wait, I don't care," she breathed out. She was in the process of slashing me when I let out a guttural scream. The pain returned full force, and this time it was easily more painful than before. I don't know why I was feeling pain now when it overloaded my body earlier. Well, maybe the Fates thought I deserved an especially painful death. Somehow, through sheer willpower and strength, I managed to stay upright and shielded Annabeth, who was staring up at me, her grey eyes piercing me.

"What are you doing?" Kelli asked, perplexed. "I haven't even hit you."

The pain subsided, and the surge of power returned. It was inflaming and irritating me, and I felt the urge to stop caring and release. But, I forced it down. This was a mistake, however, as almost instantly, I was greeted by an agonising slash to my torso, ripping through the flimsy fabric of my shirt and drew blood. I screamed loudly and the surge returned. The rush of adrenaline was overwhelming - it overrode my instincts and senses. I barely opened my eyes to see the empousa raking her claws across my body and agony wracked my senses. I could barely feel my body and my limbs were numb with pain. The strength ran through my body and panic began to set in. My thought of caring and being compassionate was immediately deleted, my only thought was

What could I do to survive?

And my answer was to conserve energy, and I stopped caring about the control over power – and it exploded.

Percy:

"Let's go!" I roared, as we charged down the hideous creature in my path, with Hazel, Jason and Frank around me we dashed towards Kampê. The creature let out an unrelenting roar and extended her body, extending well past twenty-five feet, but we didn't stop. The four of us and Kampê collided, in a clash of sparks. Kampê swung her whip forward in an over-arching arc which cut a swathe in our ranks, sizzling the air around us. All four of us attempted to land an attack on her, but she quickly retreated, ascending far above our range.

Frank was the one who took action, the archer immediately backpedalled and drew his bow. With lightning speed, he nocked an arrow and effortlessly let the projectile fly. The arrow arched straight into Kampê's shoulder, but the former gatekeeper of Tartarus barely acknowledged it. She continued in a downwards arc, her whip cracking an inch away from Hazel, who collapsed to the ground to avoid it.

"Now Jason!" I yelled.

Jason responded, conjuring up a fork of lightning and sent it rattling towards Kampê from the heavens above. The momentary shock provided just the moment that I needed to strike, and I leapt forward, extending my sword arm and provided a slash to her leg. The monster roared, and with unbelievable speed closed the distance on me and stabbed with her scorpion tail. I noticed it coming, and parried her initial swat with the tail and rolled away, forcing Kampê away. Meanwhile, while I was duelling Kampê, Hazel had summoned her equine friend: Arion and was now galloping through the night.

"Percy!" Hazel called, her hair blowing in the chilly night wind, "Summon your hellhound, we can distract Kampê with their mobility!"

I nodded briefly, not knowing whether or not she had seen me, but I whistled. From the ever-present shadows, my faithful hellhound materialised once again and I leapt onto her back. I turned back to the fight with Kampê and saw Frank peppering her with arrows, Jason flying around and summoning bolts of lightning, while Hazel (obviously riding Arion) was generally distracting Kampê with insults, and every now and then, send a particularly accurate metal streaking across the sky.

"Go, Mrs O'Leary," I whispered.

The hellhound bounded forward, barking with enthusiasm and all the while I was basically hurling insults at Kampê. At one point, she must've been so distracted that even from her impossible height, and all the distractions, that she basically stopped moving in midair, began to float down and shrunk in size.

"Yes!" Jason called, as the monster plummeted.

The son of Jupiter drew his gladius and entered close quarters with the creature, but it was painfully obvious that Kampê was completely out of his league. Her whip disappeared and was replaced by two smoking scimitars, both frothing with acid green venom. Jason was forced onto the defensive, and could barely block all of Kampê's attacks, I knew that he would get tagged, but there was no way I could help. I looked hopefully at Frank, who looked lost as well, the arrows he was sending up doing little to no damage to the flying monstrosity. With a lost expression on his face, Frank closed his eyes, and I saw his form change. He grew shorter, while his arms grew longer and wider, while his feet changed and warped. He was becoming a bird!

After the conclusion of his transformation, Frank took to the skies, but instead of attempting to duel Kampê, he ran straight into Jason and nudged him the other way. Kampê looked enraged and swung at Frank's wing with her scimitar but Frank's agility was far superior. Jason bolted the other direction, while Frank was a bit slower, while proved to be his undoing. Kampê's scimitars faded away, to be replaced with her whip, and her whip cracked outwards extending to an impossible length and nailing Frank in the back of the head.

Frank the bird plummeted to the ground, his body motionless in the air, and I saw him morph back into a human as he descended.

"NO!" We all called in concert. Jason flipped around and summoned a tremendous gush of wind, which slowed Frank's descent, and Arion blurred over to his position, along with Mrs O'Leary and I. Frank landed, almost softly into the space right in front of Hazel, and I looked at her. She looked determined, but her eyes were glassy with defeat.

"Get him back to camp, he needs to get treated," I explained, and Hazel quickly nodded, before Arion galloped off, with the two demigods on top.

Despite that treacherous experience, it seemed like we were winning this war of attrition, Kampê was slowly getting closer to the ground and was shrinking in length, only till about fifteen feet at this point.

"Jason, the more damage she gets hit with, the shorter she'll get, we need her to shrink to a size where we can beat her in close quarters!"

"Percy, I just got my ass handed to me by her just a few minutes ago, we can't do that!"

"This time, we'll double-team her!" I shouted. Jason didn't respond, so I just assumed that he agreed with the plan. Soon enough, I saw a blast of electricity emanate from his hands, and I began to aggress, with Kampê slowly coming further towards the ground, when Mrs O'Leary jumped up or managed to get a correct angle, I was able to jump upwards, and get a hit, but it was the Jason show right now. He would alternate between blasts of lightning from the sky and streams of static electricity from his palms. However, what was probably most useful was his ability to summon venti. These storm spirits were undeniably useful, not only for providing distractions so that Jason could work his magic but also to put distance between Kampê and him whenever the going got tough. It got to a point, where him and Hazel (now back from helping Frank), where the only ones doing anything. The only water was a couple hundred meters, away, and removing myself from the fight for that long would be treacherous for my friends.

Instead, I opted for a different approach. I closed my eyes and concentrated, and I felt the tug of the ocean in my gut, the pressure building to immense quantities, urging to be released. I felt power course through my veins and I pushed my arms forward, and an immense quantity of the liquid materialised. Instead of feeling drained from summoning the water, I felt strangely invigorated and a primordial power washed into me. I coalesced the water in each arm, and blasted the force of the water downward, rocketing myself higher into the air.

With this new altitude, I created a disc of spinning water and launched it at Kampê. The disc arched through the air and sliced into her wing, and she let out a roar, clearly feeling the pain and turned to me. She charged in my direction, but the water raced back and formed in front of me, creating a sort of barrier. The monster charged, oblivious to the barrier and smacked into it, head first. Clearly confused, the creature shook her head, and water droplets flew from everywhere. This played to our advantage, this momentary distraction gave Jason enough time to summon the winds. Just like he did with Gaea, he created another wind container, which encased Kampê's entire frame. Just like before, I manipulated the water into a plethora of discs and sent them streaking out towards Kampê. Just before they hit, Jason released his grip on the container and dropped to the ground, and I did the same. The disks of water exploded upon impact and Kampê roared in agony and plummeted straight into the ground. The once gargantuan figure had now shrunk to about seven feet tall. Kampê's proportions looked all skewed as if someone had tried to stuff her body into a tiny space. Her wings looked even more dishevelled and disproportionate than ever, and her belt of animal heads looked far less scary. I immediately stopped controlling the water around me, and they formed a puddle slightly to my right, but my attention was brought straight back to the nightmarish fiend.

The now seven-foot tall Kampê roared, and her eyes glowed a deep red. I quickly turned around and saw that Hazel had abandoned her fight with Kampê, and was now zipping around on Arion, cutting into the enemy lines. Mrs O'Leary was doing her fair share and was simply walking about as legions of monsters disintegrated around her.

I felt a slight nudge on my shoulder, to see Jason standing side by side with me. Kampê (now far less intimidating) had drawn herself up. Gone was her whip, replaced once again by her dual scimitars.

I tightened my grip on Riptide, and Jason drew his gladius, shining in the pale moonlight. I took a brief moment to survey my surroundings. Oh god, where's Annabeth! I instantly thought. I turned my back to Kampê, to search for my girlfriend, and that proved to be my mistake. Just as I saw an explosion of red, a rush of pain exploded in my back and I was forced to the ground. I tilted my head; my eyes going blurry with fatigue and pain and saw Jason being assailed by Kampê. I arched my back and another fit of pain wracked my body, but I stood up. Water was my only thought, and I controlled the water from that puddle and splashed it onto my face. The burning sensation in my back reduced, and while my reflexes and movement wasn't top notch, I had to help Jason.

I launched forward, and slashed upwards with my blade, trying to cut into Kampê's wing, but was instantly parried by a scimitar. All the while, Jason was being driven back by the other arm. I knew that she could basically fight independently with each arm, but I felt helpless, every strike was blocked. That was when I decided to change it up.

I lunged towards Jason's side, and we both attacked the left arm, and for a tiny moment, it looked like the battle was swinging in our favour. I heard a booming voice echo out from behind me, but my ears had turned off, trying to spare themselves from the sounds of the ensuing battle.

We fought relentlessly, taking turns at blocking the strikes from Kampê and lunging forward and taking the offensive – until a mistake was made. Jason was a little to slow on his lunge, and the transferring of his weight forward left me to defend. I backpedalled, and barely deflected the strike with the edge of my shield, the force denting the engravings that Tyson had so meticulously made. Deflecting the strike, instead of locking down the blade left Jason open, and it looked like he was about to be cleaved in half, yet the Son of Jupiter rolled slightly to his left dodging the scimitar.

Instantly, Jason sprung up, adrenaline coursing through his body and he attacked with a newfound ferocity. Jason kept his centre of gravity low and lunged forward with one leg, planting his other in mud. This angle allowed him to swing brutally into Kampê's lower half, driving his gladius deep into the belt of heads. Jason's aggressive manoeuvre elicited an ear-piercing shriek from Kampê, and almost in a panic, the monster lashed out – not with her scimitar but somehow with her whip. The crack of the whip exploded on Jason's armour, which shredded and collapsed like paper. The armour didn't look destroyed, but I could clearly see the effect of the whip taking its toll on Jason.

While he didn't writhe in pain, I could tell that he wouldn't last long. I let out a roar and charged at Kampê, a mistake. The former jailer of Tartarus' whip abilities were even more polished than her ability to wield scimitars and I knew it would only be a matter of time before I was overcome. Kampê jumped backwards, trying to make space to hit a final blow with the whip, but I couldn't let that happen, leaping forward and jabbing upwards into a bear head.

I watched the bear's head wither and disintegrate and I had a spark of realisation. The heads were what connected her two halves. If all of her heads were destroyed, she would literally fall apart and turn to dust.

I continued to whirl around, desperately trying to get a jab onto the head, but Kampê was no slouch at basically kiting me around, wearing me down. I kept trying to keep the fight in close range, while Kampê wanted a further ranged duel where she would completely outclass me. I had a feeling she was toying with me, it would've been easy to whip out her scimitars and finish this right now, but something was holding her back.

I dashed forward, cutting a swathe upwards and knocking her whip further away. With my left leg, I kicked firmly off of the ground and straight into Kampê's torso and from this range, it was impossible to not land a damaging blow. I drove Riptide forward, thrusting through her crocodile head, and piercing her reptilian skin. Kampê let out a deafening scream, and in sheer desperation flung her whip at me. I dodged her initial swipe, and stabilised myself, only to feel an agonising pain burn through my right leg. I was immediately sent flying throughout the ground, and almost poetically landed next to the squirming Jason. I chided myself for letting my guard down. I shouldn't've underestimated the devastation of her whip, it was all well and good dodging the initial swipe, but I wasn't fully rooted to make a solid stance against her followup.

"Well Jason buddy, it's been an honour," I spat out, my mouth full of dirt.

"Yeah, you too Perce. It's been great knowing you," he replied, his tone laced with the residual burning pain.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the agonising pain of Kampê's whip or scimitar to ring across our flesh. One… Two… Three… I counted in my head, waiting for the ultimate release.

"I'm sorry Annabeth…" I breathed out, just before my final moments ended. The release was near, the anxiety was peaking. Where was it?

I dared to open my eyes, and saw Kampê staring off in another direction, and the battlefield had gone strangely quiet. The moon shone onto the bank of the lake, almost like a spotlight, illuminating the lead role. The lead role soon emerged, as a colossal figure emerged from the dense foliage.

The twenty-foot tall behemoth ambled slowly forward, the figure had wild Einstein silver hair, that stuck up in every direction, like Harry's untameable hair turned up to 11. Its beard was scraggly and messy and seemed to mimic his hair, being long and untamed. What really struck me was his eyes though, a pure silver colour. Power radiated from his iris' and his thin frame made him look even taller. He had an aura of pure primordial power, one that could only belong to a god or a titan. Was it?

It was.

What confirmed my suspicions, was his uniform. He was wearing a janitor's uniform.

"Bob…" I breathed out in utter disbelief.

Bob was really here, wielding his fearsome janitor's broom and his spear.

I was snapped out of my stupor as Kampê let out an almighty roar and jumped towards the lake, towards the incoming Titan. As she was flying, she began to regain her ferocity, her body increased and her proportions no longer looked squished and odd, and returned to their terrifying original appearance, along with gaining back her size to match Bob's.

The titan bounded towards Kampê but didn't initiate a strike, waiting for the first move by Kampê. Instead of fighting, Kampê rumbled along in an ancient language that was foreign to me, but Bob spoke back in the same rumbling language. The message was loud and clear. You've sealed your fate. It seemed like all the battle around us had completely stopped, everyone mesmerised by the sudden appearance of a titan to fight off this behemoth monster.

Nico:

Werewolves. I hadn't seen Lycaon and his pack since we were transporting the Athena Parthenos back in Evora. He and his pack were about to pay for their insolence. I removed my helmet, stroking the black plume feather slowly. I slowly extended my hand back over, capping the helmet over my head, my head clear.

I turned slightly to my left, Reyna was glaring at Lycaon with furious anger, her brown hair cascaded carelessly down her right shoulder, unkept and untamed. Reyna had sheathed her sword and drew out her Silver Pocket Knife.

The knife gleamed a pale white, reflecting the moon's rays and casting an eerie light around the base. Silver was the only thing that could kill a werewolf apparently, I was willing to test that claim.

I looked to my right,

Damn, Piper and a couple of legionnaires aren't going to be able to do much. They don't have weapons made of silver.

"Piper, you can't hurt a single one of the werewolves, nor can anyone from Camp Jupiter," I exhaled.

"I know they can't, but I might just surprise you," Piper cryptically replied, a smile dancing on her face.

"Whatever, I'll tell them to get out after we start," I shrugged. "Reyna, you ready?" I asked.

The daughter of Bellona didn't respond, only barely inclining her head in agreement and gripping her blade with growing ferocity.

With no warning, Reyna bounded forward, her dogs: Aurum and Argentum materialising around her at will. Piper and the legionnaires let out a guttural yell, but just before they charged…

"GET OUT YOU IDIOTS! YOUR WEAPONS CAN'T HARM THEM!" I shouted, determined to minimise casualties. I didn't stay around to survey the results but instead charged to back up Reyna. Piper ran alongside me, brandishing the futile Katoptris.

I shadow-travelled ahead, directly into the middle of the pack. Yeah, it was a stupid idea.

I materialised from the shadows, and stabbed forward instantly, striking from the shoulder of the wolf to the base of their shoulder. The brutal swing turned the wolf to an instant golden powder. The wolves were most comfortable on all fours, and I knew I could exploit that. The wolves kept coming at me, but I cut them down just as quickly. Groups of three to four would rush me at once and I fell into a sort of rhythm.

Stab the first one instantly, causing a painful entry wound and let the blade exit, ripping up their innards and turning them to life force essence of the blade. I never understood how that worked. I would dive backwards, creating enough space between the animals and myself to maybe solidify the darkness in front of me and to send sharpened edges of the black ricocheting towards them. The third would always foolishly rush forward and would meet the edge of my blade. I always knew that Stygian Iron would kill them, I just needed something to test it on, and this was perfect. The fourth, if it wasn't intimidated enough already would rush and possibly get a swipe. But a swipe was all it would get, as a merciless stab forward and a brutal swing upward would end the creature.

I was granted a small reprieve and turned around to see a horde of wolves surrounding Piper. Piper seemed so oblivious, staring at Katoptris and dodging the strikes of the wolves with a mystical nature. A serene look of concentration was on her face, her brow furrowed and her armour bobbing up and down as she dodged. She never made eye contact with me, but never made contact with anything, dancing backwards leading a troupe of wolves away from the main fight. I ran slightly forward, towards the Daughter of Aphrodite, when a sharp pain erupted in my lower back.

My legs nearly buckled as I whipped around, flinging the Stygian Iron through its figure. The wolf was reduced to mere essence, and I strode forward, picking up my blade. I flicked around, and another spike shot up in the same location, but I knew it wasn't a wolf.

Ignoring the stabbing pain, I shadow-travelled behind Piper.

Immediately after reappearing, I kicked a hunched over wolf backwards, sending it sprawling. Instantly, the target went from Piper to me. Ten werewolves all charged me, completely ignoring Piper, who looked slightly miffed that her plan had been cut short. Well, she wouldn't be able to do anything against these, so she turned tail and ran, presumably towards Reyna. I trusted Reyna enough to not constantly need to check up on her, I think she'd appreciate that.

Well, duelling ten basically wolves was no easy task

I rolled backwards and conjured a wall of inky darkness forward. Using this shield as cover, I effectively split the wolves into two distinct groups. Taking on less than ten at once would be preferable.

I dashed to the right, having a feeling that fewer wolves would be on the right. I met the first with the hilt of my blade, smacking it right between his eyes. Slashing down, while weird, proved to come naturally, fighting a shorter opponent generated me more power with each swing. After swiftly cutting down the first, I continued forward, only to be met with eight of the remaining wolves.

I instantly slid off to the left, moulding the darkness around me into a barrier, so I could freely pursue the remaining one. I rotated around the shield and saw the lone lycanthrope hunched down with its back to me. I dashed forward and sunk the black essence into the wolf's back.

Two down, eight to go.

This is where it got tricky, I had no information on them, other than the fact that there was a group of eight lurking around here.

I dispelled the shield, eliminating the opaque darkness and clearly seeing all eight. A spark of realisation dawned on them and they all simultaneously rushed me.

Why couldn't they come in one on one?

I rushed forward to meet them.

I neatly dove forward, rolling onto my front and connecting my gloved fist with one's mouth. The slight disorientation caused a break in their ranks. This, in turn, allowed me to move forward and finish the stunned one off with a clean stroke across the neck.

While in this motion, I was struck slightly on the right shoulder.

I roared instantly and sent mud flying in my haste to turn. I struck downwards with brutal force, sucking in the remains of the wolf.

The wind was knocked out of me, as two wolves pounced me, turning the front of my armour to paper. The absolute shredding power contained in the wolves' claws was a sight to behold. I landed on my back, sliding back through the mud.

I bounded up instantly, and my hand streaked in a horizontal line, creating a solid block of pure energy. I sent the object flying, and it instantly collided with the two wolves at the front, while the remaining five all had the general common sense to stay out of the way. The scattered forces now allowed an opening, I didn't know if the energy would harm me, but I somersaulted over it just in case, landed in front of one of the wolves and slashed downwards.

Somehow, the canine dropped his head further back, avoiding the slash. This momentary stall forced my hand. I brought my gauntleted fist upwards, smashing the wolf upwards. This linear movement allowed me to line up a strike. Decisive it was, as the life force of that wolf was also drained. But the punch had taken its toll. With the combined pain in my stomach, my lower back and my right shoulder, well, let's just say it hurt. My sword arm was fine though, so… that was a plus.

I dropped my sword for a moment and raked my hand across my forehead, and a thick layer of sweat was on my gauntlet. I exhaled slowly and picked my sword back up,

"Four more."

The remaining four wolves had a terrified look in their eye, but they continued to fight. I couldn't help but have an admiring feeling about these wolves, willing to serve Lycaon till the very end.

We constantly stared at each other, waiting for one of them to make an error.

And soon they did. The wolf on the far left dashed towards me and I took one singular swing and the energy coalesced into the blade. The Stygian iron was cold to the touch, and the odour of death was strong, emitting a smell that only a sated sword could radiate. Despite their comrades' mistake, the remaining three sprung on me, leaping an incredible distance directly onto me.

And I mean directly on me.

"Get off!" I shouted as one had my armoured right arm in his jaw.

The pulling force of the jaw was incredible and my already weak shoulder felt like it was about to pop out of its socket. I tried to bring my left hand around to slice its head off, but the second wolf had brought that arm down as well, forcing the blade out of my grip. The third wolf just sat there, mockingly almost like he was saying,

That's it? I expected more from you

I couldn't concentrate on anything except the terrifying force that was being exerted on my arms, and it was unbearable.

The agony almost felt electric in nature, moving its way up my arms and into my neck area, paralyzing it, as I was paralyzed with fear.

I closed my eyes and concentrated, the shadows would aid me. I leaned back as far as I could, without breaking any bones and slipping into the welcoming shadows.

I was trapped again.

I was surrounded by endless darkness.

"Back again?" A voice echoed from behind me, echoing around from what seemed like solid shadowy darkness.

The voice was oily, but it was dripping with a sense of pride and almost honesty? But there was only one person who could speak like that, and I recognised it.

"Hi Dad," I breathed out, exasperated and tired.

"Hi Nico," Hades replied.

"Why are you here?" I asked, curiously. A tense knot was building up in my chest, and I knew where this conversation was heading.

"I just needed to check up on you, and to make sure you're going to be going through with this plan of yours."

"Well, really it's your plan, you made it."

"Yes," Hades scoffed, "I suppose that's true."

"Has it ever been used before?"

"No, but I'm an expert on death, so they trusted me."

"Yeah, whatever," I shrugged.

"Oh, and a bit of advice Nico," Hades remarked. "The power contained in that blade of yours, absolute untapped potential. Not your skill or anything. But, the power of the souls trapped in the blade. Draw strength from them."

"That it?"

"Oh, I'll prepare your room for you. That too almost forgot."

With that abrupt ending, I faded out from the darkness, ending about twenty feet from the wolves that were previously mauling me.

Only know had I realised how blissful it was talking to my dad, no not the conversation, that was underwhelming, but the relief from the pain that greeted me when I was being mauled. It returned in full force, and both my left and right arms felt like putty. I stood up, my legs were fine but the pain that shot up through my shoulders and arms was horrible.

I faintly pushed out my left arm and called for my sword. The blade zipped through the night and gently was placed back into my hand. By some sheer luck of the fates, the blade zipping had nailed the wolf on the left's neck and cleaved it straight into two, leaving only two.

I had no energy left, but what had Hades said? Draw strength from them? It couldn't be worse than my current position.

I kept my eyes wide open, but I cast my mind back, reflecting on the strength of the opponents that I had cut down, their souls eternally trapped within my blade, but I felt a certain peace that pertained to each special memory. Their souls finally being put to rest. Well, not really, since they were still float-…

Yeah, it wasn't working.

But I turned to my reflex, and flailed my arms around in a funny manner, trying to summon skeletons to do my bidding. Soon enough after about, six seconds (yes I counted) two skeletons clawed their way up from the ground.

"Kill these wolves!" I shouted. But then it hit me. These skeletons didn't have silver, they had nothing that could harm them.

"Urggg..." I grunted out and charged after the skeletons. Needless to say, trying to swing a sword was pretty damn difficult, but with no pressure on me, and the skeletons basically trapping them, all I had to do was to connect two clean blows. And that I did.

For the first, I brought my sword up in a leftwards arc, slicing through the torso of the wolf, but having to reach around the skeleton was difficult. Next, I had to switch to my right hand, and stabbed downwards, slicing through the spine of the wolf, and the essence retreated into the Stygian Iron. I relaxed all my muscles, and felt like sitting down, but couldn't, there was still a battle.

I looked up, Reyna was duelling Lycaon, the first lycanthrope. Her dogs, Aurum and Argentum, while looking slightly beat up, looked better than me at least. Piper, apparently on orders from Reyna was staring at Katoptris and shouting incoherent things, I knew I wasn't going to be much use like this, but I had to try.

I dismissed the skeletons and ran to Reyna, she didn't appear to have some trouble, and I wanted to make sure. I ran next to her and gave the image of being okay.

"You good?" I asked, she didn't respond but nodded back, staring down Lycaon, breathing heavily.

Lycaon cackled, and simply stopped talking once he saw me and blurred out my sight, running circles.

"Right NICO!" Piper shouted.

"Right? What do you mean by – oof…" I said as I was punched in the shoulder. That pain was enough for me to collapse.

"Yeah, that right," Piper sarcastically repeated.

"Got it," I gasped out. Thank god he didn't rake his claws across me, I'd probably black out from that.

I clawed myself back up to an upright position and Reyna took this time to duel Lycaon. Lycaon was trying to get under her guard and strike her with the claws while she was dancing around, all it took was one good strike with her silver knife and it would be over. Lycaon was a bit too risky with his left armed strike and was intercepted by Argentum, the dog's silver teeth dug into the lycanthrope king and he roared in agony. In his disorientation, he didn't notice Reyna advance and stab him with her pocket knife.

He collapsed in agony, his furs now drenched with congealed blood, making the horrible smell magnify.

"You want to take the honours, Nico?" Reyna asked.

"With pleasure," I said, smiling.

I walked up slowly to Lycaon and raked my blade from the right to the left, effectively slicing him into two. He was immortal, but immortals could still be injured badly.

"LUPA!" I shouted to the skies, "Lycaon has been your enemy for aeons, here he is. Take him as a thank you for everything you have done for all the demigods over the years!"

"You got anything that could start a fire?" I asked.

"I have matches?" Piper interjected.

"Sure, pass them."

I struck the matchbox (which I had no idea why she was carrying around) and burned the corpse of the lycanthrope king. A fitting end to the struggle between the wolf god, and the lycanthrope king. Killed by demigods.

Just when I thought I'd have a moment of peace, the ground began shaking.

Piper and Reyna immediately turned to me, as if I was causing the earthquake.

"Not me," I said briefly.

I turned to Percy, but he was just lying on his back, a few feet away from Kampê, he didn't do it.

I turned to my right even more. I saw a blazing ball of fire. Was that Leo?

Whatever, it couldn't be him. I looked even further, peering out towards the barren area by the lake.

It was a figure I knew too well…

"Bob!" I breathed out.

 **Hello, yes, I haven't died. I know it's been three goddamned months since I updated this story. The truth is I've been strapped for time. And, I wrote about the whole chapter, but it didn't save and I rebooted my laptop. So boom! 5000 words gone. That caused me to suffer from some serious writer's block.**

 **I think I did well on this chapter, but I'm not too sure. Well, next chapter should be out in a week, maybe sooner as I have a bit of time.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	32. A Titanic Duel

**Chapter 32: Percy**

"Bob…" I mumbled out, my head feeling weak but my heart burning with intense happiness. "You survived," I choked out, tears glistening on my eyes from the happiness of seeing an old friend. I fully expected him to not hear me, but he turned ever so slightly towards me and I swore he gave me a slight wink, before turning his attention back to Kampê.

They continued to speak in their rumbling language, but their message, just like earlier was clear as day.

"You're goin' down."

The cacophony of battle had faded away as the two behemoth figures began to move, everyone terrified yet in awe of the ensuing battle. Jason and I ran forward, as close as we dared, edging past Hazel and Frank (who had stabilised to a point where he was able to walk) and straight next to Annabeth.

I crushed her in a hug, thankful for her safety.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too."

"Who's that?" I asked, indicating the fireball sitting on the ground, with an impish grin. "That can't be. Leo?" I questioned.

"Yeah what Perce?" The fireball responded back, Leo's voice laced with mischievous delight.

"Why are you a fireball?"

"I don't have to be," he responded, as the flames died down and Leo stood there, in his shirt instead of armour."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story, let's just watch," he said, indicating the face-off between Kampê and Bob.

"Sure, we've got the whole gang here," I said, just as Frank and Hazel sat down, beside Jason and Piper, who were next to Nico and Reyna.

Just before I could say anything else, the fight broke out, Kampê threw her whip forward, with blinding speed aimed directly at Bob's head. With equally unearthly speed, Bob dodged to the left, dipping under the whip and drawing his broom. He jabbed forward, at the torso, and Kampê fell back, winded.

After regaining her composure, she once again took to the skies, flying slightly higher than Bob but abandoned her whip. Instead, she drew her scimitars once again.

Dripping with acidic venom, she flew forward, her wings flapping maniacally and creating a sound similar to that of a chainsaw trying to go straight through concrete. She sliced in a downwards arc, the flat side of the blade aiming right for Bob's head. Bob, however, brought his broom up instantly, blocking the strike. He twisted his broom around like a helicopter rotor and smashed her backwards with the cap of his broom. Kampê stumbled backwards but continued her assault. Bob seemed to grow tired of this petty fight and drew his spear.

It was his namesake, and he was very very good at using it. His spear erupted in a silvery fire, that of which meshed perfectly with his general colour scheme and the overall colour of his hair. This time, Bob didn't even bother blocking the strike, instead he jabbed his spear upwards instantly as she connected with both of her scimitars. The blades sliced into Bob's torso, but he almost seemed unaffected by the pain. Kampê, however, had a completely different reaction to being speared through. Bob had managed to hit one of the remaining five heads on her 'belt' and it disintegrated instantly, leaving her halves dangerously unattatched. She screamed loudly, and dug her scimitars further into Bob, who continued to drive his spear through her. As Kampê was being skewered, she closed the distance, but Bob was ahead of her, after his spear and run her through, he drew it back and sliced through another head, but she got closer still. Yelling in pain.

I noticed it a second too late, and so did Bob. As he destroyed the third head, they were next to each other. The scimitars seemed to be ineffective, but Kampê drew her tail back and struck Bob in the stomach. The scorpion tail was loaded with venom, dripping acidic green. Instantly, once the stinger was buried through Bob's uniform, an unbelievable amount of venom was pumped into his blood.

Surely that amount of toxin would kill a demigod, maybe it could kill a titan.

"NO!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, as golden ichor began to pour from Bob's wounds, mixing with the excess venom leaking from the wound in his stomach as he fell backwards away from Kampê. The gatekeeper of Tartarus' face was contorted in agony, but Bob looked to be incapacitated. The ichor didn't look rich and thick but rather runny, almost as if someone had mixed it with water.

Kampê backed away, surveying the damage, as the blood of the gods leaked from his stomach and his shoulders. She moved her draconic claws downwards, touching her belt of monsters, caressing the remaining two heads, a bear and a wolf. The two heads rotated to the front of the belt and looked down at Bob.

Kampê turned around, and roared triumphantly turning her back to the broken figure of Bob.

I stood up and walked forward to face her. I indicated my friends to join me and we lined up, staring down the former jailer of Tartarus.

I had lost him once, I wasn't going to lose him again.

Silently, without any communication we walked forward, and Kampê floated forward, before landing on the ground.

I drew Riptide once again and heard the rapid unsheathing of weapons. I debated about whether I should call Mrs O'Leary, who randomly seemed to disappear, but I wouldn't come to terms with anything if they hurt my dog.

"Jason," I said, my voice hard. "Remember what we did earlier? Yeah, make an air container then we bombard her with everything we've got.

"Sure Percy," Jason said, his voice one edge.

"No," Annabeth said, her eyes glowing with merciless rage. "We hurt her first, if we make an air container instantly then we have no chance of containing her. Percy and Jason, you first have to immobilise her, and we all have to play to each other's strengths. Nico, manipulate the shadows around her, force her into a less comfortable position, after wearing her down, then," she paused "MOVE!" she screamed, as she rolled to her right, straight into Piper and shoved her down to the side. I did much the same, except for shoving Leo out of the way.

By some miracle, none of us were skewered on the spot by her tail and we were able to retaliate.

"Frank," Hazel shouted, "Take this," indicating a precious gemstone centred in her palm. I had no idea what that meant, but it must've been important since Frank took it instantly and drew his bow. Frank rained arrows down of Kampê, but they were much slower due to his injury to her. It was a miracle that he was back in commission so quickly.

"But Frank, don't take it too hard yeah?" I said.

"Yeah Percy, I'll be good."

We were much closer to the lake, and it would be much easier to use my abilities. I felt the tug of the ocean in my gut as a wave of water rose from the lake, I fashioned a drill-like object out of it and threw it, full-force at Kampê. The monster, currently duelling Jason in a sky battle couldn't stop it and it slammed into her, coating her a clear sheen of water. She was knocked sideways and momentarily immobilised. Jason sent a spear of lightning flying into her torso and she was instantly shocked. Before she was able to recover, Leo sent some form of contraption up there, how and when he made it was a mystery but once it came in contact with her skin she went up like a blazing bonfire. The crimson flames licked her wings and forced her much further downwards. No doubt she was in unspeakable agony, but this was our chance.

"GUYS!" Annabeth shouted, "It's now or never!"

Instantly, I turned to Jason, who was floating slightly forward. He slapped his hands down to his sides then tensed them and struck them outwards at right angles to his shoulders. He merged his hands down in a cross and arced them out in an 'X' shape. This highly-compressed air expanded into a ball, and lengthened these balls into long bungee cord-like objects. He spent several seconds tinkering before he seemed happy. He thrust out the strange object, which looked to be vaguely familiar to the one he used to hold Gaia.

It zapped forward, completely encapsulate the flailing Kampê and began to shrink, constricting her wings. The flames looked to be dying down, but appeared to be absorbed in her eyes, as she struggled for her freedom. Jason landed on the ground, and locked eye contact with Piper and Annabeth, who nodded.

"What are yo—" I began, before he lifted the two of them upwards. He looked to be struggling under the combined weight of two people. Not to say tha—ah forget it.

After reaching some position that looked dangerously close to Kampê.

"Ready?" Frank called, an odd looking arrow firmly nocked in his bow. He turned to Hazel and whispered something, and she called up some golden spike or something.

"Leo?" I asked, turning promptly to him.

"Thought you'd never ask," he said, grinning maniacally as he burst into glowing light.

"Reyna!" I called, locking eyes with the praetor.

"I'm ready Percy," she said, her eyes stern and angry gazing up at Kampê.

"Nico?"

"Yup."

"3, 2… 1!" I yelled, summoning forth the cumulative water in the lake. It formed into a topwards spiral, and I made a smashing gesture with my fist. Jason did something, and Annabeth and Piper both made a throwing gesture. I saw a glint of bronze through the air but dismissed it. Leo sent forth a barrage of flaming cylinders, while Nico simply ordered the shadows to compress even further around Kampê, snuffing out her oxygen. Frank and Hazel shot their arrow with a gold spear on top to the top of the inky figure.

Jason descended and dropped the two girls off, before channeling a lightning strike. The mauve coloured bolt hit the tops of his hands, before channeling forward like an electrical conductor, and sending a monumental amount of energy forward, burning Kampê to cinders.

Everyone hit the ground, drained of energy. That was, before the scream returned.

"KRAAAAAA!" it called, the scream intensifying as the air container surrounding Kampê was shattered and the beast emerged, tired but looking more terrifying than ever. I saw only one head remaining, and celestial bronze sticking out from her gut.

"Annabeth, please don't tell me you chucked your knife up there," I stressed.

"Calm yourself Percy," she snapped, "It did the job right?"

"Not good enough," I groaned, as one head was still swivelling.

Another roar was elicited from Kampê's mouth and this caused my hair to stand on end. The sound probably shattered all the glass in Hogwarts, probably even broke the mist barrier that Hazel had fashioned.

"Oh we're screwed," Leo added, now no longer burning.

Kampê took even further to the air, and I saw a hurtling ball running into the ground, intent on destroying everything within two hundred feet – easy.

"KRAAAAAA—Urh ruhr," As the roar collapsed.

A spear was jutting out from the backside of Kampê, going right through the wolf's head, impaling Kampê and disconnecting her two halves. The wolf, the final connector, holding both her dragon and human halves. The surrounding light around Kampê began to glow a faint mauve, with the light creating a hoop-like shape around her belt.

The spear, still impaling her was yanked out, and a silvery fire burned the wolf away, completely making her halves fall apart. The light began to glow a darker purple, like an angry bruise on your leg that wouldn't go away. As Kampê began to plummet into the ground, the light began to bubble and morph changing almost instantly from angry purple to a golden pink colour.

The light began to fizz and turn just like one of those potions that Snape loved to have me make.

The mystery of the spear took a backseat, as my eyes buggered out of their sockets in fear.

"HIT THE DECK!" I screamed.

It was a testament to our trust that no one debated my instruction and hit the ground.

The light exploded in three different directions, lighting up the fading light like a firework show. The three-pronged explosion of colour radiated into the night sky. The prongs blended together, into a fading lightshow, a bumbling mess of colours in the night sky.

A shockwave exploded outward, and a surge of wind erupted from the epicentre. The leaves of trees, and even the water from the lake looked to be surging backwards, and flopping uselessly like all their energy was drained. My hair stood on end, and my armour reverberated against my bones, clanking against and sending shoots of discomfort up my spine. The wind displaced from the blast was shooting past my eyes and I shut them, almost to the point of pain (I was squeezing them so hard). I clasped my hand to my ears trying to stop them from rupturing.

Immediately after I cupped my hands, I heard an all too familiar sound, it was Kampê's roaring, but magnified to a level that would probably disintegrate me. I knew that if I unclasped my hands from around my ears, well, that would be the end of me; so I squeezed even harder, shutting out all the background noise I could.

After several seconds of intense anxiety, I felt the air cool against my skin, the thick bullets of sweat evaporating and cooling my skin from that intense heat.

I dared to open my eyes, and I saw carnage everywhere. Any trees around the area had been stripped of their vitality, twigs and branches being flung easily thirty to forty feet away from their original destination. Despite being about fifty feet away ourselves from where the blast started, surveying the carnage, we shouldn't be alive.

I heard Annabeth mumbling on the ground,

"The explosion definitely had a high explosive yield, no radiation, thirty meters away, minor injuries, fireball," yadda yadda.

What I knew, the thing that went boom should've sent us back to Hades and I really didn't want that.

I stood up, my legs shaking briefly, before steadying and drawing myself back up to full height. I glanced slightly to the right of where I was staring, and saw the silvery silhouette of Bob.

The titan was hunched over, clearly in pain.

Then it clicked. Bob had taken the hit for us, that's why we weren't a pulp on the floor right now.

"Bob?" I breathed out, surveying the silvery Titan.

"Hello Percy," he rumbled, his deep voice contorted in pain.

"You alright?" I asked, humbled and worried about the titan's actions

"Bob is fine," Bob breathed out, heaving heavily.

"Bob… did you take the blast for us?" Annabeth squeaked out.

"Bob did."

I wondered how much strain he was experiencing. He was very clearly stabbed in both shoulders, and pumped full of toxin in his stomach, and now he had taken the brunt of a blast. He clearly wasn't fit for more fighting. But by some miracle, Bob stood up.

It hadn't really seemed real that Bob was here, until he drew himself up to full height and surveyed the surroundings. And at that point, I was so terrified, I couldn't resist the urge.

I dashed forward and wrapped my arm around the friendly titan's hip. I had to strain to even be able to reach that, but I managed it and forced all the affection that I could into that embrace.

I felt the faint hand of Bob on my back as I exhaled deeply and relaxed.

 **Jason:**

Bob, what a guy.

He had saved our lives. 'Nuff said.

Percy and Annabeth ran up to him and collapsed while hugging him, overcome with emotion. And I can't really blame them, can I? He saved them once in Tartarus, and he saved us once again here.

Annabeth gasped rapidly in disbelief, before gesturing towards the wounds on Bob's shoulders.

"How are you doing that?" Piper said, exhibiting disbelief.

I couldn't contain the gasp that escaped from my mouth.

I watched Bob with intrigue, as the wounds on his shoulders and stomach began to knit together, the muscle and destroyed tissue stitching back together, the broken fragments littering the entry point slotting back into place and the destroyed sinew knitting back into place.

"He has amazing healing powers Piper!" Annabeth exclaimed, "He touched his wounds and they simply healed themselves!"

"That's pretty incredible Bob," Piper responded, smiling happily.

"Bob is incredible, yes!"

"Bob?" Frank asked, groaning, "Could you help me?"

Immediately I felt bad. Frank was fighting his own battle, barely coping with the pain, despite it fading he must be feeling terrible, and his effectiveness must've been compromised.

Bob immediately waltzed over, Percy and Annabeth standing beside him, beaming and touched a finger to the back of Frank's head.

"Ooh, Big Owie," Bob exclaimed.

I could see Frank's head visibly relax, as the pain faded into the back. The colour returned to his face, and his mood seemed to lighten.

"You know what?" Reyna said, her stormy eyes surveying Bob with slight confusion and worry, "We're all pretty beat up, could you heal all of us?"

"Yes, Bob could!" Bob chirped happily. Everyone immediately removed their armour, and mine clunked heavily against the moist dirt, probably soiling them to a great extent but I felt much better without the additional pounds weighing down on me.

The pain in my torso and stomach seemed to lessen with the reduced pressure on it, but nonetheless, not having to deal with it would be much better. One by one, Bob touched us where he detected pain, I had no idea how he knew where we were hurting and how he did it, but I wasn't complaining as the pain flowed out replaced with renewed vigour.

"Thanks, Bob," I sighed out, feeling much better and more relaxed than I had been all night. But there was one thought that was still nagging me.

What about Krios? I had definitely had dreams about him, and there was also that dream about monsters rising from Tartarus. Was that referring to its jailer? Or something more sinister. Percy had noted having a vision of Hyperion, and they hadn't turned up yet.

Nico was just finishing getting healed. He was visibly uncomfortable – he hated physical contact.

Once Bob touched Nico, he recoiled slightly and gazed at Nico with his eyes crinkling.

Bob muttered something to Nico under his breath.

Nico exhaled slightly and closed his eyes. He then leaned in and whispered back to Bob.

Everyone was looking on them with slight bewilderment.

"Nico? You 'right?" Leo asked, slightly worried.

"Yeah Leo, I'm feeling much better," Nico said, and just to emphasise the point, began running on the spot.

"Kay," Leo said, his worries dispelled, but I thought there was something more. Eris had clearly contacted Voldemort, and told him to kill us and then Harry would be ours.

"Oh god," I gasped, shocked.

"What?" Reyna asked, her eyes narrowing on me.

"Nico? Do you remember what you said to us when we met you and the rest of Camp Half-Blood?"

"Yeah…" he said uncertainly. "Voldemort would lead Harry aw—oh," he said with spontaneous realisation, "Harry's been lured away…"

"We've got to help him," Annabeth said, stepping forward.

"We can't go now," Percy said, with slight worry for Harry.

"Why?" Hazel asked.

"We've got to rest, then we'll go," Percy said, gesturing behind us to the last remains of battle winding down, with a bunch of demigods, versus like 100 monsters. He then gestured back to the makeshift infirmary. "Bob and the Apollo Cabin, no, everyone has got to help and get anyone back into tip-top shape. We owe our help to our own before we can help Harry, Ron and Hermione," Percy explained,

Annabeth looked at him in an admiring way, as if realising how much Percy had matured over the course of this quest.

"I agree with Percy," Piper and Reyna both said in unison. They then stared at each other, and laughed slightly.

"So do I," Annabeth said, before putting her hand on her boyfriend's shoulder.

Percy smiled gratefully, before continuing.

"Harry still needs the help, so we've gotta hurry up," Percy said, before clasping his hands together.

I glanced away towards the now concluded battle, and we dashed to the infirmary, with Bob leading the charge, his stride about a million times larger than ours.

We got to work, almost everyone was injured, and I wasn't very good at bandaging people up, my job was to basically help bandaging people and to run around and fetch tools for people. The Apollo Cabin was leading the charge, with them all carrying out serious medical procedures to extract shrapnel, blades and all sorts of nastiness.

Percy was carrying ambrosia and fresh cloths everywhere, and Annabeth was helping with the actual procedures. Piper was also comforting them with her charmspeak, and trying to suppress how bad it really was. Leo was cauterising the wounds and was rushing around like nobody's business. Hazel was helping with setting everything up, levitating the metal tools around to help people that needed it the most. Frank helping Hazel do her job and Reyna was attending to some people with the help of the Apollo Cabin. Nico was helping Will, and the two of them worked well together.

The two of them dating had definitely helped both of them to become more outspoken and come into their own.

"There you go Annabeth," I said, delivering some bandages to her as she was strapping someone from the Ares Cabin's wrist.

"Thanks Jason," she said absentmindedly, completely engrossed in her work.

"I backed up, to get another set of bandages, when my head went foggy.

It was completely unexpected, but it felt like my head was in a head-on collision with a freight train. I was instantly sent into a fit of nausea, and almost toppled instantly, I backed out and collapsed into the mud. By shirt was definitely soaked but that was pushed to the far corner of my mind as I slipped away.

"Hello Jason," A metallic voice echoed, and I instantly knew it was Krios. "Me and my brother are waiting for you and your friend."

"We're in the forest clearing. You know where. This time," the voice seemed to come closer and speak directly to me. "And I will smash your bones into a pulp."

I tried to come back with some witty and intimidating comeback to intimidate the titan, but my tongue was tied, I couldn't speak, whether it was from fear, or from the rules of this vision. My field of view zoomed out, and I saw Krios and Hyperion standing side by side.

Krios was twenty feet tall, just as tall, if not taller than Bob and was wearing his black armour with his ram's head helmet. He was leaning on his sword, a behemoth of a weapon that was about ten feet in length. A wave of darkness seemed to ooze from his armour, and enveloped him.

Hyperion was the same height, but his armour was golden in colour, and he was wreathed in light, almost like if Apollo's light had become much much harsher and unforgiving. He was also wielding a sword, but it was golden, was that imperial gold? Despite that, I felt that I was inherently drawn to this duel, and there was nothing that I could do that would let me avoid it.

"OI! JASON!" A voice shouted, and I jumped.

"Nico?" I asked, confused. "Did you -?"

"Yes," he said impatiently, biting his bottom lip.

"Percy!" Nico exclaimed as well, and Percy jumped up, startled.

"Nico?" he asked, confused. "Did you -?"

"YES!" he said, even more impatiently than before.

"Woah, calm down," Percy said, placing his hands in front of him.

"Okay," Nico said, deeply exhaling. "We're in the Forbidden Forest, and Krios and Hyperion said something about the clearing.

"Do they mean the clearing that we trained in, and where we met Nico and Camp?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, probably."

"Sure, let's go," Nico said, and began walking, but Percy and I just stood still. Nico turned around and looked at us puzzlingly. "Are you not coming?"

"It's not that Nico," I started, speaking feverishly with nervousness, "It's just that, we're definitely walking into a trap."

"I know that, but it's never stopped us before."

I looked at Percy, and tried to look confident and shrugged and turned to walk after Nico.

"Nico? Why aren't we getting help?" Percy nervously chirped.

"Because, it's just us three. No one else can get hurt. Besides, you two beat them before, we'll do that again."

"Yeah, but Nico, I only won because of Grover and the Nature Spirits," Percy said, exasperated.

"I only won because of how much help I got from the Legion," I said, reflecting back onto the day and flinching.

"No, you both won on your individual merits, compounded with the support you got from your friends, you two were basically both made unbeatable. But now, you don't have all your friends, but your individual powers have grown. Plus," he said, grinning slightly in the barely lit forest. "You've got me," and with that, Nico grabbed both of our arms and faded us through to the clearing.

We were thrown out of the shadows, and despite multiple shadow travelling I was still nauseous after the fact.

The first thing that hit me in the clearing, was the absence of the titans. The area was dimly lit with the amber flames of a multitude of torches.

The torches were arranged on top of brick structures, arranged in a circle, marked around by a thick layer of chalk. Nico's eyes and face grew dark, while me and Percy's eyes shot up in confusion. It sort of seemed like a darker, more sinister and primordial way edge to the ceremony meant to let Gaia rise.

"It's a trap?" I asked carefully, trying desperately to keep the edge of panic out of my voice, but could feel it creeping in.

"Yes," Nico said, his voice taking on a steely edge. He was dead serious, and there wasn't a hint of nervousness or anger present in his voice.

Without warning, Nico walked across the circle, and Percy and I blindly followed. I looked across to Percy, and saw a faint level of fear in his eyes, but a greater edge of confidence and power. His sea-green eyes seemed to pulse and bulge outwards, and Nico's dark brown eyes seemed to mirror his, emitting an aura of power.

I obviously couldn't see my eyes, but I felt a faint tingling behind my eyes, as if there were large lamps behind them, and someone had turned it up to a hundred.

We lingered in the chalk circle for about forty seconds, and nothing happened. Abruptly, the torches around the circle flared upwards, far, far higher than the canopy of the trees, like a crimson flare.

The sudden rise in the levels of the torches prompted me to draw my sword instantly, my action mimicked by Nico and Percy. I silently thanked myself that I was paranoid enough to keep my armour on. Percy and Nico, along with Reyna and Annabeth had shared our sentiments, but absolutely everyone else had let their guard down, except probably Clarisse.

I knew what was happening, and I instinctively closed my eyes, despite my eyes plunged into darkness, there was still an undeniable and unavoidable amount of light.

"Hyperion," I heard Percy sigh out in exasperation.

After about fifteen seconds, I felt like it was safe to open my eyes, and to my surprise, it was bearable.

I hadn't seen Hyperion before, but he had an uncanny resemblance to Bob, just change his colour scheme and then boom, you'd get Hyperion.

Hyperion was a tall and muscular guy, with skin glowing an antagonising faint gold, like a polished penny. His eyes were made of pure gold, similar to Hazel's. Except, unlike Hazel's which was comfortable and made her seem easy to approach, Hyperion's light was harsh and unpleasant. He wore golden armour, accompanied with his ten foot long golden sword. Was that Imperial Gold? Percy stared at Hyperion with furious anger, but with a strange caution, as if he knew something worse was coming. Well, something did come.

Hyperion's armour burst out in the same golden flames, licking around the metallic edges of the armour and wreathing himself in the fire, as Lord of Fire I suppose it makes sense.

After Hyperion's demonstration, Krios coughed quietly, and Hyperion stopped, and looked backwards annoyed towards his brother.

"Let me have the spotlight," Krios whined, "You're always getting more exposure."

"Yeah, that's because I'm more fun at parties Krios," Hyperion retaliated. "All you do is sit in the corner and –"

"Yeah, yeah, we've had this conversation already. Let me be intimidating already," Krios grumbled before stepping forward. During this well, corny conversation, I had already taken the time to look at Krios. I couldn't say that he changed much since the last time I saw him.

Krios still had his black armour, with the stars that decorated the night sky decorating his armour, with the constellation of the ram, which he was probably very proud of. His helmet, was continually decorated with stars across it, with a tiny slit down the middle, with the ram horns towering out from opposite sides before curling downward and pointing slightly upward back towards the top of the helmet. Krios was neglecting his sword, but I could still admire it. Despite it about to be cleaved or atleast attempted to be cleaved through my body, I couldn't help but be impressed by its craftsmenship. It wasn't dissimilar from Hyperion's, both about ten foot long blades, except Krios' was black, while Hyperion's was gold.

Krios was rambling on and on, before Nico stopped him.

"Why are you here?" He asked sternly, before glancing slightly at us to back him up.

"Why else Son of Hades?" Hyperion spat, before laughing heartily. "Our leader must rise," he cackled, before spreading his hands out.

"Didn't Tartarus destroy you for failing to kill two broken demigods in Tartarus?" Percy asked questioningly, with a mocking undertone.

Krios appeared to flinch, before clearing his throat and speaking. "Well, we're on a very special mission, and Tartarus ordered it," he mumbled out.

"Krios, let me do the talking," Hyperion grumbled.

"Well, to answer your question Perseus, Tartarus felt us to be the best for the job, and also there was incentive," Hyperion spat, before glaring intimidatingly at Percy.

"What is this job?" I asked, trying to wiggle something out of them.

"Well it's –"

"SHUT UP!" Hyperion roared at his brother. "It's none of your business, demigod," Hyperion spat.

"Tartarus is rising," Nico said, deadpanning.

"HOW DID YOU K—" Hyperion roared, before stopping himself. "That is ridiculousness demigod."

"You gave yourself away Hyperion. Like the clumsy old oaf you are. I guess your time as a tree affected your mind," Percy snickered.

"Tartarus is going to kill us isn't he?" Krios said, his voice gaining anger.

"Yup."

"No need," I muttered, as I felt confidence ooze back into my body.

"We'll kill you for him," Nico exclaimed, his devilish smile coming back.

"That certainly won't happen, will it brother?" Hyperion asked, the flames around his body increasing in intensity.

"Definitely not, Tartarus can kill us himself. Not to these idiots."

"That not what I meant Krios," Hyperion said, shaking his head. This momentary distraction is when we started. Nico leapt forward, closing the gap instantly, and sliced upwards in a brutal arc, impacting Hyperion's armour and slicing through it.

It was pretty clear, that it didn't hurt Hyperion, but it startled him enough, ripping through his golden armour, which I was pretty sure was Imperial Gold, would've been easy for a Stygian Iron blade, but actually hurting the Titan, that'd be much harder.

I dashed straight for Krios, and in his absence of mind, I stabbed straight into his foot, yeah I know, not the most vital organ, but hey, when you're in a battle against a far stronger opponent, you've got to take whatever advantage you can. Krios' foot protection didn't stop the golden blade and it etched deep into his foot.

Krios roared in pain and swatted at me, sending me flying backwards. By some miracle, I managed to land into a clump of shrubs, while it didn't save any pain, it certainly stopped what would've been a fatal hit and turned it into mild pain. Meanwhile, Nico and Percy were trying to get another shot onto Hyperion, but whenever they attacked, he'd just burn brighter and they'd have to back up even further.

"PERCY! YOU'VE GOT TO KILL HIS LIGHT!" I screamed.

I couldn't see Percy well, but I was faintly sure he nodded. Nico pulled the darkness around him, somehow and encased Percy in some form of pure shell. I had no idea what purpose that would serve, but whatever. I was more concentrated on the giant ram plowing towards me. I had barely an instant to recognise it, but I dived instantly to the right, rolling on the ground before pushing myself back up. I kept low, making it harder for Krios to hit me, and for me to search for a crack or any point I could exploit in his armour. Krios swung twice at me with his sword, and tried to cleave me in half, but I dodged each time, making sure to keep myself low and able to dodge to each side effectively. I was so much shorter that Krios, that he wouldn't be able to block my strikes, definitely it would be much harder.

Krios struck a third time, this time stabbing forward instead of hacking down in an arc. I took the opportunity to dodge the strike, and his overextended arm made it easy to get under his guard. I smacked his arm to his right, and jumped up. Using his knee for leverage, I boosted even higher and stabbed him directly below his hip. It seemed to feel like his armour was less suited for defensive natures as he clearly felt the pain of the stab, my sword buried hilt deep into his skin. I barely yanked my sword out and fell to the grund with a resounding _thud_ before hit other hand tried to the punch me.

This tactic caused him to just aggravate the injury even more by touching it.

But that fall hurt. Falling seven feet, and not landing properly wasn't exactly painless. I staggered back up and risked a glance. Hyperion's light behind his eyes, and the flames around his armour seemed to have died down, and flickered faintly instead of intense flames. I turned around just in time, and ducked under Krios' blade, but this time, he made contact. He grazed the side of my cheek, and the gash was deep. It didn't feel like a normal wound, almost as if my energy was being sucked out through the blade and the wound.

I ran backwards, right to the edge of the circle, the torches and totems would provide cover. I hopped out of the circle, and Krios looked outraged, as if I was meant to stay in the circle. I dug into my pockets and wolfed down a small pack of ambrosia that was taken in emergencies. It tasted amazing, and wasn't like the roman bakeries anymore, but instead of the cake that Piper had cooked for me on after our return to Camp Half-Blood.

I relished the taste, before touching the wound briefly. It already felt like it was mending, but it wouldn't be better for at least an hour or two.

"GOT YOU!" Krios screamed, and he brought his sword down on the right of my torch. Krios didn't leave the circle.

Was he even able to? I had learned a long time ago, that these arenas and stuff had weird laws. I was pretty sure I had already violated one by stepping outside of the circle, but who cares. I survived.

"No you haven't!" I said, and dashed out from behind the torch and made a beeline straight to Percy and Nico.

"PERCY, NICO, MOVE!" I shouted, as I barrelled out towards them with a screaming titan after me. I was planning to get them into the same place, and then Nico and I could try and trap them, and then bombard them.

The first part went off with a hitch, the two of them leapt out of the way of a confused Hyperion and I barely hopped off to the side before I ran into Hyperion and the two titans collided into each other. Krios ran into Hyperion, but unluckily, he didn't drive his blade straight through Hyperion's armour. Instead, he knocked Hyperion to the ground before stopping.

"You're an ABSOLUTE IDIOT!" Hyperion yelled as he staggered back up.

"Yeah, Yeah my fault," Krios said, somewhat apologetically.

The fire in Hyperion's eyes turned up to eleven, and Percy retaliated almost instantly with a surge of water, which came from absolutely nowhere. Whenever Hyperion tried to power up, Percy instantly quelled the fire and light from his eyes.

I dashed right into battle with Hyperion, using my superior agility to dance around him and land quick, safe jabs at his body.

The subsequent hits caused him to do something that caught me off guard. Krios yelled loudly and I was propelled backwards fifty feet. Thankfully, I skidded to a stop on some mud, which for once I actually appreciated, right on the edge of my circle. I glanced to my right, and Percy and Nico were also sent flying by the same move, this time performed by Hyperion. They were around the complete other side of the circle. I wobbled myself back up to an upright position, but my legs felt like unset jelly. I almost collapsed, but held myself up. I knew I couldn't dodge anymore, and I had to stand my ground.

I sent a jolt of electrical energy through the air, I watched it dance towards Krios, granted, the voltage wasn't high for me to like, incapacitate him, but it was enough to cause him discomfort. I didn't feel as if a lightning bolt would do as much as sustained painful shocks, and it would leave me more drained.

I kept up the onslaught of shocks, and Krios roared, not in pain, but in constant discomfort, which constantly slowed his ascent. I simply saw him stop a few feet ahead of me, and his grip on his sword was incredibly lax. The look in his eyes made him look defeated and exhausted. I took this moment to call down a thunderbolt.

I looked up to stars, and raised my right hand, with my left still clasping my sword. A bolt of electricity shot down and impacted Krios instantly. The direct flow of electricity pierced through his armour, and worked its way into his body, more than likely frying everything contained within him to a cinder. This bolt, I made sure to be extra powerful, just to confirm the KO.

The action left me drained, and I could barely stand, and just to save a bit of energy, I collapsed back down, watching the writhing form of Krios spasm uncontrollably. I dug out my last packet of ambrosia, and attacked it, wolfing it down within seconds. I felt some feeling return to my legs, and I stood up again.

I continued to watch Krios, who stopped spasming, but continued to stand upright. His knees sagged down towards the ground, but managed to support his weight. A feeling of dread began to form a lump in my throat.

The titan's eyes opened from the slits in his helmet, and they glowed a murderous cold blue, like his eyes were turned up to eleven.

He gazed up to the stars, and dropped his sword. I would've capitalised on this opportunity, but I wouldn't close the gap.

Krios was the Titan of the Stars. And well, he started to draw energy from the stars. I sent a spinning bolt of electricity towards him to disrupt him, but it didn't work. He closed his eyes, and while he looked to be in discomfort, he strengthened to it. I gazed at Nico and Percy, who looked to be doing fine. Hyperion hadn't regained his fire, and Nico was landing solid blows on him, shadow-travelling around and digging his blade into the chinks of Hyperion's armour. I watched them faintly and smiled.

There was one day, when there was a monster I couldn't beat. That day was today. I gazed back towards Krios. I crouched down, determined to power my way out of the blast that was imminent.

The celestial energy glowed around Krios, blazingly around him in a blinding light.

The light around him pooled into his centre of mass.

He cupped his hands around the ball of light and he threw it. I tried to dodge to the side, but I knew I wouldn't make it. I closed my eyes and dived as far as I could to the left, dropping my sword to get maximum distance. I felt a pair of hands on my hip and I made it an impossible distance.

I landed so far away from the blast, I wondered how.

The light was blinding, and it took several seconds before I could see again. The blast had left a mini-crater, and everything was flattened, anything close to the centre would be blown away.

I glanced right on the circumference of the circle. Percy was on the other side, but right next to me. The person who saved my life. Nico Di Angelo, strewn on the edge of the circle. Broken.

 **Another chapter completed. Did you like it?**

 **It was chock-a-block full of a bunch of action.** **Bob vs Kampe, Kampe vs the Seven, Krios and Hyperion vs Nico, Percy and Jason.**

 **Well, we'll get to the ending of this chapter and yes. Nico saved him, but Jason couldn't save Nico. You'll see how this affects the next chapter. Some of you will be devastated, and I am one of those, but it had to be done. All will be revealed.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	33. Tragedy

**Chapter 33: Percy**

I dashed back slightly, barely lifting my hand off my blade to wipe a thick layer of sweat free from my brow. I instantly steadied my blade once more and locked it into place with Hyperion. He seemed almost unable to keep up his fire and strength, I kept snuffing out the flames that erupted around his feet, and continually doused the fire that threatened to blind Nico and me that decorated his armour. So basically, my job was to keep Hyperion locked in combat, and focused on me. My secondary objective was to also throw him into a rage, due to him being unable to do anything with fire due me constantly dousing it. While I kept Hyperion's main focus, it was Nico's job to teleport around him unpredictably and slip Stygian Iron in between the chinks of Hyperion's armour.

Well, it was definitely working. We had been fighting for ages, well atleast it felt that way. Hyperion didn't seem to have tried anything fancy, but his sword strikes seemed to be waning in strength.

I risked a glance upwards, to see the full moon slightly past its zenith. I cursed myself as I got distracted from the fight for a moment. Hyperion capitalised, and closed the minute distance almost instantly. The titan of the East launched a gargantuan strike upwards. Just before it would've connected with my skull, I flicked my sword to the left, and dislodged it. Saving myself. Just then, Nico shadow-traveled directly underneath Hyperion.

"Just die," Nico echoed, his voice taking on a slightly darker tone, like he wanted to destroy Hyperion. A void of darkness began to pool around Nico, and looked like it cooled instantly, with miniature black wisps radiating from the surface.

I stifled a laugh, as I saw Hyperion faceplant instantly, tripping over the solid sheet of inky dark. I stopped thinking about humour, and leaped forward, beside Nico.

"You good Nico?" I breathlessly asked, as I raised my sword up, directly pointed at a chink in his calf.

"Yeah," was all he said, as he slashed uncontrollably at the Hyperion's greaves, determined to put him out of commission.

I raised my sword, and brought it downward with tremendous force. The sword slid perfectly between the gap in his armour, and Hyperion uttered an earthshattering scream. Somehow, the Lord of Fire got to his foot in an instant, and I was sent flying backwards by an armoured fist. I crashed backwards, and landed into a pile of mulch on the exterior of this circle.

"Urggg," I groaned, as I steadily rose upwards, rubbing the back of head from the impact force. My eyes widened instantly, Hyperion's flames were returning and if they returned back to full strength, we would have no chance. Hades, we wouldn't be able to see. I didn't bother moving, but summoned the power of the ocean within me. I closed my eyes for a split second, and felt a torrent of water gush out and pulse around me, awaiting my instructions.

I thrust my hand forward, and a wave of liquid flew forward in an uneven, but straight line. The ocean collided with Hyperion, and he stumbled forward, directly into Nico's blade, which cut a swathe through his front. I dashed forward, but with a slight limp, it was futile. Hyperion roared in agony, and swung his golden sword towards Nico. Stygian Iron connected with the golden metal, and specks of dark and light were thrown forcefully outward. As strong as Nico was, and that applied to me as well, neither of us could stand up to the might of a Titan. We could hold our own for maybe a few seconds against that kind of force, but no longer. I saw Nico's eyes darken, determined to follow through, but he faded away into wisps of darkness.

'FIGHT FAIR YOU COWARD!" Hyperion roared in anger, his harsh golden eyes looking positively murderous.

"You're not fighting fair either, you're trying to glow," I pointed out, gesturing to his barely shining armour, more like shimmering faintly in the moonlight.

"I WILL THROW YOUR CARCUSS TO TARTARUS PERSEUS JACKSON!" Hyperion boomed.

"Been there, done that, got a souvenir," I briefly said.

My best hope was to taunt Hyperion to make a tragic mistake. Summoning water from absolutely nothing took a lot of my energy away. I had done it without much of a problem so far, but during back to back massive battles with no water source? I could feel a draining effect on my body, sucking its energy away.

Hyperion charged at me foolishly, blinded by his anger and pain. I saw faint drops of golden ichor trail from his calf, where I had ruptured probably a few major things.

I waited till the last second, before rolling briefly to the right. I stopped moving almost instantly, and leapt up, to lock swords with the Titan. Hyperion put his whole weight behind the blade, and I could almost hear my shoulders and forearms screaming in agony.

It was almost like Hyperion was burning away the remaining muscles in my arms and slowly melting away my reserves of strength. That was, until Jason ran at us.

"PERCY, NICO, MOVE!" Jason shouted, as he barrelled out towards us with a screaming titan after him.

The first part went off with a hitch, and I leapt out towards the side, narrowly dodging a terrified looking Jason, and a screaming Titan wearing a stupid ram helmet. Nico had rolled to the other side, but was completely out of sight.

Jason looked like he was about to collide directly with Hyperion, but changed his course almost instantly, just before he was about to get smacked. The two titans collided against each other, and both sent each other flying a fair distance away.

The flames around Hyperion started to well up again, and it seemed like he was angrier than ever.

"You're an ABSOLUTE IDIOT!" Hyperion yelled as he staggered back up, mostly directed at Krios, but I assumed he was insult us too.

"Yeah, Yeah my fault," Krios said, somewhat apologetically.

The fire in Hyperion's eyes turned up to eleven, and I retaliated almost instantly with a surge of water, which came from absolutely nowhere. I could feel my strength waning, all this water was taking it out of me.

Krios began to run back towards Jason, leading him further away, so that he could fight Krios alone, and that Hyperion and I could fight.

Hyperion closed the distance on me with blinding speed and swung his sword down in a downward arc.

"Déjà vu," I briefly muttered, before swinging Riptide upwards instantly to combat the force. The swing that I made was nowhere near as strong as it was before, and my muscles almost collapsed instantly.

There was no way, I was going to hold on. It felt like all hope was lost…

I yanked Riptide to the right, rolling with the momentum of the blade to put distance between me and Hyperion. I pushed backwards as far as I could with my legs, my left hand now strained to the point of complete exhaustion. I barely stole a glance upwards, to see Nico fighting valiantly against a Hyperion, who seemed to be toying with him slightly.

I staggered upwards, my arm feeling almost comically useless at this point. I gritted my teeth together, firmly believing that I had managed to ground them into a paste throughout this fight.

My muscles seized up and felt like they were being controlled by some external body and abruptly, pushed down upon with a cataclysmic force, sending me twirling through right to the edge of the circle. My fall was slightly broken by some random tree, but that didn't stop my back from aching like Hades. I glanced backwards at the tree.

"Thanks," I vaguely muttered, hopefully thanking the dryad, and not just a tree. I wasn't going insane. Yet.

I stumbled up to my feet, and my eyes buggered out looking at the distance that I was flung, and how Hyperion did it. It was easily 100 feet backwards. My mind flashed back to the Battle of Manhattan, and how Hyperion sent me flying backwards, and remembered the sheer power of this titan.

I rotated my eyes around, first to Nico, who was dusting off his shoulders, then to Jason, who looked like he was about to collapse. Thankfully, Krios looked like he was completely exhausted too. I was thinking about running to help, before a large golden Titan barrelled his way towards me.

I sighed deeply, before rushing forward to meet him. Yet again, Hyperion sliced downwards onto me with deadly force, and I jabbed upwards to block the strike.

"Not again," I muttered under my breath, as I bent my head forward as my strength began to evaporate.

I was definitely, a goner, until, Nico Di Angelo showed up. Nico emerged from the shadows, the wisps of darkness flaking off of his being. Nico brandished his blade, before raising it above his head, and striking downwards directly into the back of Hyperion. The onyx sword seemed to almost phase straight through Hyperion's armour, and stabbed him directly in the small of his back.

The Son of Hades wrenched the blade out of the Titan, and it was at that point that I noticed the blade wreathed in black flames.

The darkness licked around the edge of the blade as it fell out the back of Hyperion and Nico dropped to the ground, with the blade firmly in its grasp.

Hyperion collapsed to the ground, kneeling down, with a healthy (in this case, definitely unhealthy) stream of ichor flowing from the wound. I flashed Nico a grateful smile, which he returned.

I felt the hair on my neck stand up almost instantly, and I had a chill emanate down my spine. I spun around instantly, and Nico followed suit.

The sight that greeted me was awe-inspiring. Krios was standing still, with his eyes closed staring up at the sky. Jason pressed his advantage, sending millions of minute shocks Krios' way. The Titan of the Stars seemed to seize up as each volt passed through this body.

Krios let out a horrible roar, presumably in pain and began to rise upwards. I stood paralyzed in awe, as jolts of electricity danced throughout the air, before impacting with Krios and causing a spasm.

Jason looked to be barely able to stand, with his legs wobbling dangerously as he sent shock after shock at the Titan.

After a continual series of shocks, Jason raised his right hand, pointing upwards towards the stars.

Almost instantly, a bolt of lightning was called down from Olympus itself, the electricity working its way through Krios' body, charring his insides to cinders.

After the bolt connected, Jason collapsed downwards into a heap, exhausted. I unfroze from my daze, and started towards Jason before there was a deep rumbling.

I slowly panned over to Krios, who was still spasming uncontrollably continue to stand upright. Krios' knees continued sag but they somehow still managed to support his weight.

I stared in disbelief, as my eyes buggered out in fear.

I spun around to face Hyperion, who seemed to have regained his strength at an alarming rate.

The fire surrounding Hyperion didn't seem to have regenerated quite yet, so I was great on that front.

I looked at Nico, who wrenched his eyes away from Krios and together, we shadow-travelled to Hyperion.

I was deposited slightly above Hyperion, and jack-hammered my sword down in between a point in his shoulder. I didn't hit a chink, but it was enough to cause some mild discomfort.

I saw Hyperion's armour begin to be imbued with fire, and I slid down his back. On the way down, I noticed the colossal sized wound in his back.

"Thanks Nico," I muttered, before jabbing Riptide into the wound, aggravating it further.

Hyperion roared in pure pain and smacked me backwards. I landed on my back, and probably left a nasty mark, but I did an instant 180.

Krios…

K-Krios was glowing.

Celestial Energy pooled around Krios, a blinding light surrounding him completely.

I watched Jason, completely immobile; frozen in fear.

"GET OUT OF THERE JASON!" I screamed, but I knew it was futile.

The blinding light coalesced into a medium-sized ball, which the Titan of the East threw.

I watched powerlessly as the light enveloped Jason. I could feel Hyperion's movements behind me, but I knew that he would wait to see the results of his brother's power.

I opened my mouth to shout for Jason, but no words came out. All that emerged was a futile croak.

I looked beside me to see Nico's reaction.

 _Where was Nico?_

I turned all around, but there was no Nico to be seen.

This was when I began to panic.

Cold sweat began to pour down, even more so than usual.

I stood up and ran like hell.

The mountain of dust that exploded outwards was beginning to settle, and I ran fearlessly straight into the middle.

The blast had left a mini-crater, and I coughed violently as I waded through the dust in the air.

Once the dust had settled, I was finally able to see what had happened.

Strewn carelessly by the force of the explosion, right on the edge of the circle wasn't Jason.

It was Nico.

I collapsed onto the floor, sinking down to my knees. I crawled right to the edge, staring down at the broken, lifeless frame of Nico Di Angelo.

Nico's dark black hair was plastered to the back of his head, spread every which way, with his eyelids fluttering, struggling to stay open upon the forceful nature of death.

"Nico…" I breathed out deeply, my voice quivering with a definite mixture of terror and panic.

Nico seemed to respond to my voice slightly, his eyes becoming slightly wider and his stare becoming more defined.

"Percy…" Nico muttered, his voice parched, and exasperated.

I looked deep into Nico's eyes, noticing a fading light behind them, his brown, sunken eyes deteriorating in colour, turning darker.

I felt a faint presence on my shoulder. I whipped around instantly, to see Jason standing over me, his legs quivering, and his jaw unset.

"You - you alright Jason?" I mumbled out, a sense of grief overtaking my senses.

The Son of Jupiter didn't respond, simply nodding his head weakly in acknowledgement.

"Nico saved me…" he mumbled out, a drip of liquid trailing from his eyes.

My eyelids began to grow moist, as the weight of the event that had just unfolded hit me.

I was unable to stop myself, sobs overtook my body and I collapsed to the ground, clasping Nico's hand in mine.

The contrast was even more pronounced, Nico's skin was returning to a regular colour, but he was still dangerously pale.

"G-Get him some ambrosia and nectar, Jason!" I shouted.

Jason went down to dig some ambrosia from his pocket.

Nico held a frail hand upwards, with his palm faced outwards. Telling Jason to stop.

"Why?" I asked to Nico, confused.

"This is what was meant to happen," Nico said, his voice excruciatingly raspy.

"What?" I exclaimed, my voice going up an octave and my eyes widening. "Jason, what the hell is he on about?"

"It's not Jason. I saw this happening," Nico choked out.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, my voice dangerously lowering.

"B-Bane," Nico stuttered out. "This. T—this is my destiny. I—it's the con-contigency," Nico exposited, his voice cracking and losing it's intensity.

I gripped Nico's hand firmly, clasping it within my own.

"No, there has to be something else. Jason, pass the ambrosia." I choked out, emotion gripping my voice.

Jason instantly responded, passing down the last remnants of remaining ambrosia.

"Here, have this," I tenderly responded, not wanting to cause Nico more pain.

"No Percyy, you don't understand. Death is my home, I cause it. It's time I go back,"

"No." I muttered, my voice cracking and fracturing with emotion.

"This way, I help you defeat Tartarus," Nico scraped out, his voice dying.

Jason walked to my left, peering down at Nico, before crouching down to his level.

"Thank you, Nico. For—For everything," Jason gasped out, his voice cracking.

"Thank you, Jason," Nico muttered, his voice going even lower, to the point where I had to strain to even hear him.

"No—No, Nico. You've got to take this ambrosia," I begged, tears spilling uncontrollably from my eyes.

"Percy." Nico uttered, carefully, enunciating every word as if it were his last. "Tell Will. Tell him that I love him. Thank you for everything Percy. Gosh, I haven't even considered all you've done for me.

"You're so strong Nico," I cried out, trying to control myself. "I'd be dead without you."

"You've got to survive this. We still need you, Percy. Let me go."

I drew in a shuddering breath, a great chill overtaking me. I brought a hand to my eyes, stemming the flow of liquid.

"Thank you, Nico. For everything." Nico let out a big smile, his lungs expelling the last remnants of air, as his eyes grew dim.

I bent down, pulling the son of Hades upwards into a tight embrace, determined to be there with him.

Nico pulled his arms feebly around me, and that's where we remained.

I felt an almost foreign presence on my shoulder.

Jason looked terrified, and also extremely solemn.

"C'mon Perce. We've got to avenge him," Jason cried, his voice taking on a vengeful tone.

"Yes," I muttered, my pain from Nico's death passing. It was a part of life. Nico had lived, and apparently, his death would help defeat Tartarus? That's in the past. Right now, Nico's legacy had to be protected. And that started by murdering the idiot that caused this.

 **Jason:**

Nico.

Nico Di Angelo was dead.

Nico Di Angelo, the Son of Hades. Survivor of Tartarus was dead.

I tried to hide my emotions, and conceal my pain. I felt a primordial rage build up between me, a sense of anger, stronger than I had felt ever before. Which was weird.

I rose upwards, spinning around, to see Hyperion and Krios talking to each other, with gleeful grins on their faces.

Their happiness acted as a fuel for the fire, my anger burning more intensely than I thought possible.

Hyperion's armour was glowing with the heat of the fire, we had to put it out.

"Percy, douse Hyperion," I ordered, my tone rigid.

A spire of water erupted into existence, beside Hyperion, with the Titan being completely engulfed byt the surrounding water. His armour immediately lost its lustre.

Hyperion turned around with a terrifying roar. However, it didn't cause fear. I felt calmer than ever, as if someone had turned off my emotions, and all I felt was anger. Not only at Nico's death, but Hyperion's reaction, a grin on his face.

I had to stop his armour from reheating, Percy was going to run out of steam.

My mind flashed back. Storms.

I hadn't tried something like that on such a scale. But I had to try.

I summoned the power of Jupiter. I felt all the energy flowing around me, aware of my surroundings as my eyes shut. I felt the potential flow of all objects, the electricity and wind ever-present.

The pool of energy had always been there. I just hadn't been driven low enough to ever realise it. The energy among every living and non-living thing could be harnessed and put to good use.

I commanded the energy around me, shaping it to my will. I forced the power upwards, to the sky. The pool of energy vanished, as if my connection was severed for a moment.

I saw Krios charging towards me. I simply shaped the winds to my accord, forcing myself backwards and sending the Titan charging aimlessly sideways.

"PERCY! You've got to buy me some time. I've got a plan."

"Yeah, fighting off two titans at the same time. Seems doable," Percy shrugged, with a trace of doubt.

 **Hazel:**

"Who still needs help?" I shouted, scouring the area around for anyone in need. We had done a really good job of fixing everybody up recently.

Reyna waved to me from the other side, a perplexed yet worried expression on her face.

"You alright Reyna?" I asked in confusion, noticing that she was kneeling on the ground, with nobody around her.

"Yeah, just… thinking."

"About what?"

"Just, Uh…" Reyna gasped, exasperated. "I've failed."

"Stop talking nonsense Reyna!" I exclaimed, leaping down to her left to be at her level. "How have you failed?"

"There have been many casualties Hazel. Many."

"Reyna, you are dealing with a war, you can't expect any conflict to end without any form of loss."

"But if I was just a better leader. Maybe none of those good people would be dead."

"They have been wrapped in shrouds, Praetor. They will make it to Elysium. They were part of the legion, and part of Camp Half-Blood. They were willing to fight this battle and they shall be honoured for their sacrifice."

"Yeah," Reyna admitted, standing up again. "I'm gonna find Jason and Percy. They were probably hit hard by this too."

Without any other thought, Reyna vanished into the swarming crowd, now teeming with people who didn't look on the brink of death.

Not five seconds had gone by, before I felt a heavy tap on my shoulder. I spun around, to see Reyna and Piper looking worried.

"Have you seen Jason?" Piper asked, panting.

"No? Why?" I responded coolly.

"I've been looking for him for the past twenty minutes and he just, isn't there."

"Don't worry Piper, I'm sure he's hiding around here somewhere,"I muttered, scouring the crowd of bandaged and bruised demigods.

I did a quick scan… nothing. Where was he?

I plunged forward, creating a divide between the crowd, looking around for Jason. Piper followed me, her face contorted with worry. I looked to my side, and saw nothing before…

" _Oof_ ,"I muttered as I collapsed to the ground from the impact.

"Sorry Hazel," Annabeth quickly muttered before trying to scurry off, instead almost colliding with Piper.

"What are you in such a rush for?" I asked Annabeth quietly.

"Percy, do you know where he is?" she pleaded.

"No, Annabeth," I calmly responded, We're looking for Jason right now.

"Jason and Percy are gone?" Annabeth asked Piper, her eyes widening in fear.

Piper nodded, biting her lip with worry.

"Where's Reyna gone now," I muttered, exasperated. "Where's Nico, he's the last sensible one here," I mumbled under my breath.

We spent a good five minutes wandering about this make-shift infirmary. It wasn't a big place, it surely wasn't this easy to hide for this long. On top of that, I couldn't find Nico.

Hmm…

Nico, Percy and Jason were gone. Three children of the Big Three.

That couldn't be a coincidence.

I turned around, seeing Piper and Annabeth holding each other, each trying their hardest to reassure the other that absolutely nothing was, wrong, something that I had been trying to tell them, and now, I was regretting my words.

I caught a glimpse of purple.

"Reyna!" I shouted, marching straight towards the Praetor. "Have you found them?"

"No," Reyna said, her voice straining as the looked upwards with a perplexed expression.

I looked upwards and my eyebrows creased with the irregularity.

"What are all those storm clouds doing?"

An angry flock of dangerously grey clouds moved at an accelerated rate across the sky. The night was beginning to turn to early morning, and the clouds didn't stand out, blending perfectly in with the surrounding colours. What had caused these clouds to move, not only that quickly, but cause them all to group up around a singular area. The Dark Forest.

"Jason…" Reyna muttered under her breath.

Reyna immediately sprung into action, her back straightening and her cloak whipping around her. She strode straight past me, and crouched down, silently beckoning Piper, Annabeth and myself to follow. Reyna commanded so much authority, it was almost akin to Piper's charmspeak, having that feeling of needing to obey her, it was quite intimidating.

"There's some big fight going on over there," Reyna said, vaguely indicating the forest. Jason and probably Percy and Nico are over there, fighting someone, or something. You three are going to go over there, and save them. Afterwards, kick them for scaring us, yeah? Frank and I will stay here, and bring the legion in for backup if you don't return in a while."

With that commanding speech, Reyna marched off, her Aegis glittering in the fading moonlight.

"Well, that speech was something," Piper muttered, before strolling off to go and put on her armour.

I walked away too, going to the last known spot where my armour was.

I slapped my armour on carelessly, hastily fastening all the straps. Arion was around here somewhere, probably grazing in a nearby field.

I put my fingers to my mouth and whistled briefly. A crisp, high-pitched noise was formed, something that Arion knew far too well. In an instant, the horse materialised from a nearby field, coming to an instant stop in front of me.

Arion was quite a big horse, and it took a fair bit of effort to mount him, but Arion decided to be kind this once and bent down, making it ten times easier.

"Arion, get Annabeth and Piper," I ordered. My steed obeyed dutifully, warping towards Piper and Annabeth, who both mounted Arion, whose back barely held all three of us.

I turned around, "Is everybody ready?" I asked, my voice bleeding with worry about Nico.

"Yeah," Piper responded, trying her best to keep a straight face.

Annabeth didn't respond whatsoever, her face stormy and distant, her pale grey eyes swirling with anger.

"I'll take that as a yes," I muttered under my breath. "Arion, take it easy, we don't want anyone falling off."

The chestnut horse whinnied in both appreciation, and slight annoyance at not being able to stretch his legs.

We rode at still a decent pace forward into the forest, Arion whizzing past the trees, rocketing us forward into open spaces. Running in an enclosed area like this probably wouldn't be easy, even for this horse.

"Arion, slow down," I ordered, with the horse immediately slowing to a simple trot.

 _Where were they?_

 **Leo:**

My body tingled with energy, the pent up stress and heat that I had been holding in, had just well… exploded in battle. Annabeth saw it. I vaporised those empousae. _Wow_! That feeling was incredible.

Just to think, for the last few weeks, my body had been tingling, spasming and purely aching, and why?

Well, I still didn't know. What I did know, was that releasing all that pent-up energy had caused me to explode with fire. EXPLODE!

It was pretty cool. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to control it, and that my whole body would keep burning, but I could control it pretty well.

Right now, I was helping some guy from the Apollo Cabin, I think his name was Austin?

"Leo," Austin said, exasperated. I asked for a stethoscope. You've brought me binoculars.

"Yeah, joking," I muttered, brandishing the stethoscope from behind my back.

"You've caused enough harm here, I'm trying to save this guy."

"So am I," I indignantly responded.

Austin muttered under his breath. I got the general consensus.

 _I can save him more easily._

I strolled away, walking about aimlessly, boucing around this infirmary.

I stumbled into Reyna, who looked stormy and serious. That girl always intimidated me. She never laughed at my jokes, always regarded me with the same indifferent expression and on top of all of that, it was likely that she still hated me after what _I_ did to Rome.

It wasn't even me, stupid eidodinos or whatever, now I'm on the wrong side of a scary girl.

"Hey Leo," Reyna said, begrudgingly.

"Hi… Reyna," I said, quivering.

"No need to be so scared, I'm not mad at you anymore."

"Yeah," I said, doubtful. "Whatever you say."

Reyna cracked a genuine smile at what I said, before her façade descending over again.

"I'm gonna get Frank, you get everyone else, round them up. There's a something else to fight. I can feel it."

"Yeah, sure." I muttered, walking away.

"Leo," Reyna said, turning back to me.

"What?"

"Stop being so uptight, I'm not mad at you," she stressed, before walking away.

"Yeah, not mad at me. Cool," I muttered, kicking a stone.

It was so painfully obvious that she didn't like me. I had gone from Leo, the guy who can explode with fire, and set himself on fire to… Leo, that idiot that got possessed by an eidodino and blew up New Rome.

Why couldn't Reyna just forgive me? God.

"Anyone got water for an Iris Message?"

"Yeah, Leo come over here!" Will exclaimed.

"Who were you just Iris-Messaging, Solace?"

"No one," Will hummed, "Just my mum, she's probably scared out of her mind."

"Yeah, can I use it, and a bit of privacy please?"

"Sure. Calling Calypso, I assume?" Will joked, smirking.

"Yup," I replied, hopping slightly in excitement.

I muttered a slight incantation and threw a drachma into the spray.

Within seconds, the image of Calypso materialised, with her doing her hair in the Big House.

"AHAHA!" Calypso screamed, dropping her brush, while it was midway through her hair.

I roared with laughter, as I saw the demi-titan turn a bright scarlet.

"LEO VALDEZ!" Calypso screamed, our time apart not doing anything to quell this type of relationship.

"Hey gorgeous," I said, teasing Calypso.

The Daughter of Atlas groaned, before slapping herself in her face, trying to cope with my amazing behaviour.

"What do you want Leo?"

"Nothing, just wanted to call and say that we've basically won."

"Basically?"

"Well, Reyna thinks that there is one more big fight."

"If Reyna thinks that, don't you dare say that this fight is over. If you come back alive then maybe," she said, trailing off towards the end.

"Maybe what?"

"Maybe I will kiss you."

"WHAT?" I almost screamed in mock ecstasy, "That's never happened before!"

"Oh shut up, you," Calypso sighed, but I could tell there was an undertone of delight.

"Bye Bye beautiful," I said, putting on the first genuine smile that I had in a while.

"Jerk," Calypso muttered, with no real anger or malicious intent in her voice.

I swiped through the connection, severing my contact with Calypso.

I walked around, and couldn't get that dumb grin off of my face.

I swore under my breath.

Reyna had told me to get everyone ready, and I hadn't even started.

God, that woman was going to kill me.

 **Yes. It's been another two months. Okay, I admit. I have been struggling with writer's block + having to concentrate a lot more in school for my End of Year Exams. Alright? They're over now, and the hols are in a week, so expect a bit more writing to come out of this. There's about, 3-4 more chapters I think that I have planned. Sorry that this chapter was a lot shorter than anything else of late.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


	34. Vengeance

**Chapter 34: Percy**

What the hell was Jason doing?

The Son of Jupiter was floating in mid-air, arms spread out like a fallen angel, eyes closed.

"Well Jason," I muttered to myself, "I guess I gotta fight two of these things now."

"OI!" I screamed at the two towering titans. "Bright Boy, Horn Head, get over here you worthless idiots," I shouted, anger beginning to overtake my body.

"DIE!" Hyperion screamed as he ran towards me, flanked by Krios.

I smirked fairly obviously, baiting them and delaying the inevitable fight between us bought Jason time, for, well; whatever he was doing.

As the Titan of the East ran towards me, I ran in zig-zags. I read somewhere that it was better to do this, against like, fast animals? And Hyperion basically classified. However, instead of following my track, he just ran in a straight line towards me. So, I basically had to abort.

I flicked my head around to see Hyperion keeping up to me well, and I decided to change it up.

I threw my weight backwards, flipping downwards and rolling under the rushing Titan. I knew this was very risky, and more than likely would kill me rather than him, but whatever.

I jabbed upwards, grazing the inside of his leg with his sword: A Minor Blow. I backed up instantly into Krios, who sliced in a downwards arc, his inky black sword cutting a swathe through the air. I bounded up instantly, pushing off with my left leg and jumping away from Krios. Hyperion was beginning to relight again.

I summoned a deluge of water, lifting my hands up into two distinct pillars, before hurling them towards Hyperion. The blue columns of liquid exploded upon impact blasting the golden Titan backwards and sending his sword scattering to his right.

"You alright Hyperion?" Krios asked, a touch of worry gracing his tone.

"Kill him, you absolute idiot!" Hyperion bellowed

Krios nodded briefly, before glaring at me.

"Goodbye Son of Poseidon," Krios chirped, in an oddly cheerful tone.

 _God, what on earth is Jason doing?_ I asked myself, not daring to look at him, in fear of getting killed. No joke at all.

"You'll have to catch me first!" I screamed at Krios, before dashing and looping back around to where Jason was. He was still locked in aerial trance, this time looking directly up to the sky. I saw a clump of angry grey clouds grouping together in a circular 'dance'.

"What is this idiot doing," I chided.

"Don't call me an IDIOT!" Krios bellowed as his fist crunched into my back.

An immediate surge of pain was sent flaring up from my back and I heard an unpleasant crack. I was sent flying, tossed like a ragdoll carelessly. I landed on my stomach, my chin imbedded in the floor, a flood of dirt entering my mouth. I spat the copious amounts of dirt out of my mouth.

I put both arms under my shoulders and forced myself upwards, trying to stand out.

I instantly let out a cry of extreme pain, as I felt my back crack and squirm in agony. My armour warped from the blunt force trauma, curling around the impact on my back. I barely remained conscious standing up.

"Well done brother!" Hyperion bellowed, cackling in happiness. "You've broken the great Percy Jackson!"

"Thanks!" Krios said, sounding genuinely happy about his brother's approval. "What about him though?" Krios asked, pointing to Jason.

"Leave him," Hyperion growled. "First, you're going to help me finish Jackson."

My eyes widened in terror, as I felt the ground shake from the two titans advancing towards me. I bent lower to the ground, picking up Riptide. The blade felt foreign in my hand, balanced awkwardly. Or, maybe that was just me bent over in physical pain. I never knew that one hit would hurt so much. Maybe it hit my Achilles spot? Did that cause aggravated levels of pain? Probably. It would explain a lot…

 _CRUNCH!_

I bellowed in agony. I think Hyperion just trod on my ankle. The pure agony that I was feeling was just compounded in magnitude. My vision was going blurry, my… everything began hurting.

 _HIYA!_

Another sickening crunch, pain shot up my right leg, electrical, burning my insides, turning my courage and strength to paper.

" _ENJOYING?"_

The worst one yet. Krios and Hyperion both kicked me in the ribs. I felt a searing pain from my ribs, definitely broken. The titans weren't even noticing my armour, their full-force blows turning it to paper mache, crumbling feebly under their might.

 _SMASH!_

I was kicked in the same spot again. The pain almost caused a blackout. Pain shot through my body, winding up to my brain, a feeling like it was being kicked over, and over, and over again. An overwhelming white rolled up into my eyes, warping my perception, pure needles of pain were tearing into my eyes, over and over. My body shook writhing in agony, my senses beginning to shut down.

The blinding white prevented me from even opening my eyes, my arms, basically useless, being pounded within an inch of destruction. My ears, I caught snippets of their conversation. Before…

"Use the sword. End this. Raise Tartarus."

 **Jason:**

 _God, what was Percy going through._

I know, summoning a storm like this was selfish in some regard, leaving Percy to fend off two Titans. But, if I managed to get this storm off, then it would seal the deal. Hyperion would be completely unable to glow, Percy literally couldn't be hurt and had an unlimited reservoir of water. And, well. That's about it. But it's a start.

I felt the changing air currents above me, I was controlling them after all. I had to drop the air pressure significantly. I think we were taught this at Camp Jupiter, something about a bar and air pressure? Well, lower air pressure causes a sort of vacuum, pulling air around it and forcing it upwards in a column. Don't ask me how I knew that. It's probably wrong though.

Not only that, I tried pooling all the moisture in the air, which included sending clouds racing across the sky, and forming new and more intense clouds. Again. I have no idea how I did that. Controlling water was supposed to be Percy's thing anyway. Jupiter was probably smiling down on me. Or I hoped.

I was seeing white, my eyes straining and my muscles tiring and squirming. I continued to clamp my eyes shut, tighter, tighter. Gritting my teeth. Until…

The scene around me changed, the cacophony of fighting dulled, and an uneasy calm wafted through the air. The wind also relaxed, as if entranced by the peace it was experiencing. A gentle breeze stroked my face, caressing my eyes and I visibly relaxed. I opened my eyes, and the scene was… odd.

My surroundings were natural, possessing an ethereal beauty with emerald foliage. The flora was abundant, with sparkling, radiant colours. Reds, Yellows and Pinks simply scattered everywhere, bouncing off everything, shining with the combined beauty of the area.

It was definitely, the most beautiful place that I had ever seen. I walked forward, through a narrow path that cut through this 'forest'. The spirits of dryads popping into existence, before giggling cheerily and pointing before vanishing.

Everything around me brought a smile to my face, but something felt… off.

The place was too beautiful, something like this could never exist today. There was no place like this that existed. Where was I?

"You're right after all."

I spun around, my hand dropping to my gladius, before gripping… nothing. My gladius was gone.

"Your blade isn't there."

The man standing before me had curly black hair, immaculately cleaned and in pristine condition, the wind ruffling his hair in an unusual way. A long flowing robe draped off of his figure, pale green in colouration highlighted by specks of red and yellow, a light sky-blue towel hanging off his right shoulder.

The man's voice was rich, his threat even helping me relax and long for a great lie down.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Zephyrus."

"I saw you in Dalmatia right?" I said, thinking back to the hunt for Diocletian's Scepter.

"That was Favonius, but yes, basically."

The whole Greek-Roman split still confused me. But I managed to roll with it.

"Why am I here?" I questioned.

"You see Jason, you are undertaking a very dangerous task," Zephyrus said, glancing a knowing look towards.

"Yes, I know. And if you let me finish it, I could go and help my friend, who is currently fighting TWO titans simultaneously. So thanks, but I'm off," I said, marching away from the god.

"Jason, I'm trying to help you," he informed, genuine concern present in his voice.

"With what?"

"Your eventual destiny. I know your friend, Nico -," he began before glancing at me to see my reaction. Emotions bubbled uncontrollably, but I tried my hardest to keep a straight face. "Well, met an unfortunate demise. But the deed is done. Do you know why the titans fought you?"

"Yes, Tartarus is rising," I choked out, my voice tightening with worry. "Nico _died_. To help us defeat Tartarus apparently."

"Yes. That should work. What Tartarus needs is something to anchor himself to this world, to wrench himself out of his own realm and solidify himself here."

"Let me guess," I sighed out, "He needs the blood of a demigod."

"Ding-ding-ding. But not any demigod. One of the Big Three demigods."

"Well, if Nico died, then that cements his rise!" I exclaimed, slamming my fist into my palm. "The idiot said he was helping us stop him."

"Not necessarily."

"What?" I asked, completely gobsmacked.

"What he needs is something to anchor him to this world, something that separates him from his realm. But the Underworld. Hades' theory was that in the event of something like this, is that the Underworld is well, similar to Tartarus in a way. And that the link that they share might be enough to prevent Tartarus' rise."

"So basically, Hades' plan was to kill his own son, so Tartarus wouldn't rise!" I screamed, my voice increasing in pitch as it went on.

"Yeah, in essence."

I slammed my hand into the ground, the grass flying away from my fist, creating a crater in the ground.

"How could he be so heartless?"

"He did it for the safety of Olympus."

"But Hades doesn't give a damn about Olympus. Why would he willingly offer up his son?"

Zephyrus shrugged his shoulders his face registering indifference.

"That, I don't know. All I know is that Centaurus gave Hades a prophecy, and this was the destiny that was given to one of his sons if Tartarus rising becomes a threat."

I let out a great sigh, sending a silent oath, thanking Nico for his sacrifice.

A great lump formed in my throat, and a horrifying thought dawned on me.

"What is Percy dies as well?" I asked, my voice beginning to crack with emotion.

"Tartarus rises," Zephyrus shrugged, the thought not seeming to perturb him. "You may want to hurry though, I sense that your friend is in mortal danger.

With that said, Zephyrus exploded, a gentle breeze and a few scarce flowers lightly falling towards the ground. A faint voice echoed afterwards. It sounded vaguely like numbers. In Latin.

" _centum_ _,_ _nōnāgintā novem, nōnāgintā octō,_ _nōnāgintā septem,"_

I had 100 seconds apparently. But what was I meant to do? I decided on a prayer to Jupiter. Zues. Whoever.

 _Uh, hey dad. It's me. Jason Grace. I think you remember me. I just wanted to say, could you like, give me strength or like, help me? There are two titans that apparently are trying to kill Percy Jackson my good friend. I know you're not the biggest fan, but please… this once. Can you help us or something. Oh, and this storm I'm creating, yeah give me some guidance on what to do, we've got now… 80 seconds._

I stood up from my prayer and opened my eyes. Bewilderment registered on my face, as the luscious expanse of greenery had faded, and all that was left was a small set of marble stairs, polished immaculately, with great care. I quickly jumped up the stairs, taking two at a time, reaching to the top. There were three marble stands in front of me, topped with the head of the Big Three. A thick sheen of black powder covered the three figureheads.

 _Did I have to clean them?_ Why had this appeared to me now?

I thrust both my hands forwards, directly onto the head of Zeus. I dusted off a speck of black powder, sending tiny granules flying through the air. Wait.

The gentle breeze around me stopped.

An ear-piercing screech emanated from the statues and I clapped my hands to my ears, in a desperate attempt to stop that noise.

The black powder swamped me, clogging up all my senses, blinding and covering my ears, and leaving me defenseless against that cacophony.

"JJAAAAAASON GRACE," a voice rung out from all directions. The voice was scathing, like sandpaper on bare skin. An agonizing, yet intriguing voice. Sounding almost as if everything was drawn towards it, and faintly dull, almost as if it wasn't projecting outwards, but was instead drawn back in. Pure terror filled every inch of my being, in combination of the near suffocation of the black powder, it was pure agony and torture.

"THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO PREVENT MY RISE. YOUR PATHETIC FRIEND IS DYING, EVEN THE GODS ARE TERRIFIED OF MY POWER, YOU THINK YOU HAVE A CHANCE WHEN I RISE? YOUR PATHETIC PRAYER IS USELESS. YOU WILL BE CRUSHED LIKE THE INSECT YOU ARE."

Before my vision returned, a bone-chilling laugh exploded outwards, a sound like two mountains colliding and being annihilated.

I fell to the ground with a resounding clap, my head knocked firmly against the marble floor. I opened my eyes, my head still spinning. I had no time to ponder and recover, we were running out of time. Almost as if I had a portable guide implemented in my head, I collapsed in front of the statue of Zeus.

 _Hey dad, please help. Tartarus is rising, Percy is dying, and so am I. We're on our own against two titans. Please. Please help me summon this storm, its our only chance…_

I prayed, before my vision cut. An eerie silence rung out, only punctuated by my rapid, incessant breaths.

Two bolts of lightning struck on either side of me, and the resounding ring of thunder followed instantly after.

I shrieked out in pain, as a bolt of lightning hit my straight in the centre of my chest. The substantial power of lightning coursed through my body, bringing with it an intense burning pain at the entry, and I had a sneaking suspicion that the skin was smoldering.

And then, I collapsed, falling towards the forest floor.

 **Annabeth:**

"We're almost there," I said, looking upwards as the clouds overhead turned to a mix of onyx black and dusky purple. The clearing wasn't too far ahead.

"Take a left turn here," Piper said, her voice filled with panic and worry.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Hazel replied irritably.

"Calm down girls," Reyna said commandingly. "Frank and Leo are coming with the remainder of our forces to help Percy, Nico and Jason," she whispered, while fidgeting with the straps on her armour.

"Something's wrong," Hazel instantly replied, her brow crunching in concentration.

"Imagine," Piper bitterly replied.

"No, it's not that Piper. Something feels off, with Nico."

I jumped upwards, almost falling off the back of my horse. A bolt of electric energy just struck down nearby, and many, many trees were uprooted and flung several meters, and the air cracked and sizzled around us.

"What on earth was THAT!" I screamed, losing my cool, a rare event I must say.

"Lightning, the fight is just beginning to heat up," Reyna ominously announced.

 **Third Person:**

A colossal bolt of lightning struck the ground between the two Titans. The sheer force of the lightning bolt flung debris and dirt exploding outwards, shattering the ground beneath it, leaving a jagged crater of cracked, parched dirt and rock. The debris crumbled in mid-air, being reduced to mere granules, but still forcefully hitting the two titans.

Hyperion and Krios both jumped backwards in surprise.

"What the fu…"

"DAMN IT!" Hyperion screamed as a mountain of dust collided with his face. The golden titan immediately dropped his sword, which landed directly to the right of Percy's lifeless frame. The Son of Poseidon didn't even acknowledge the event, his eyes blank, staring upwards at the sky.

"Who's that?" Krios asked, sounding vaguely interested.

Hyperion responded with a mumbled, irritated reply that was lost in the howling wind. Jason slowly descended, winds whipping around his clothes, rippling with the force. The Son of Jupiter was floating angelically, staring at Krios and Hyperion with a murderous stare. Jason flicked his hand, a bright spark of electricity snapping across his body, dancing downwards to his feet. The sparks lit up Jason's frame, highlighting his body against the angry purple clouds.

"Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter," Jason responded, landing softly on the ground, sending a blast of gentle wind outwards from his position.

"Well," Hyperion bellowed, sounding like he was trying to contain his laughter. "While you were gone, Percy Jackson fell," Hyperion cackled, pointing faintly at the limp corpse of the Son of Poseidon.

"He fought valiantly, but no demigod can handle the might of two Titans," Krios said, praising Percy.

Jason was deeply conflicted. Percy had died. But Zephyrus had said that Percy was dying. Not that he had died.

Jason's fist tightened, and his jaw line grew taut. He would avenge his friend.

"Let's see about that shall we?" Jason grinned, concealing his deep emotional strain.

The Son of Jupiter immediately rose to the sky, gaining altitude quickly, rising just above Krios and Hyperion.

Jason raised both his hands to the sky, and muttered something into the howling wind. The clouds exploded.

A torrential downpour began, the clouds releasing an amount of water absolutely untold of. More water couldn't be found in the world, even by exploring the depths of the ocean. The water droplets were the size of ping-pong balls, hitting the ground with a great amount of force, for a water droplet. The howling wind intensified, the trees around the circle, and through the forest began to violently rattle, the few leaves remaining on the extremities of the trees being thrown out in all directions. The weather became completely volatile, colourful bolts of lightning began streaking across the sky, their hues too numerous and intense to count, followed immediately with a deafening crack of thunder immediately after.

Without warning, Jason rapidly descended, reaching into his scabbard to draw his gladius. The imperial gold sword coated with a glistening layer of liquid. Hyperion didn't expect Jason to attack so quickly, and was completely caught off guard.

The gladius speared downwards, through Hyperion's shoulder-plate, puncturing deep into the titan's skin. Hyperion let out a thunderous roar, dwarfing any noise that could be created by the environment. Hyperion dropped his sword in agony, before wildly swiping with his left hand.

The gauntleted fist, sailed straight past Jason's right ear, as the Son of Jupiter fought wildly to rip the gladius out of the titan's shoulder. On the second attempt, the sword was yanked outwards, but a resounding crack was heard, and Jason felt his back snap forward, as the Son of Jupiter was pounded into the ground.

"You're welcome brother," Krios sighed, knowing deep down that Hyperion would never congratulate him for his work.

"Urggg," Jason groaned, as he crawled out of the crater in the ground that had been left from his impact.

Jason immediately put as much distance between Krios and Hyperion as he could, before boosting upwards to the sky. Jason put his right arm up at an angle, his arm and palm straight, before slicing downwards in an angular curve. Immediately after the action, a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, cracking the ground between the two titans, and sending them flying backwards, along with mounds of now, dry cracked earth.

Jason dropped to the ground, gesturing two circles with his hands. The howling winds ceased, the forest going deathly quiet. The Son of Rome crumpled his hands together, like he was crushing an object between his hands. The forest leapt back to life, with the air around him hardening, while the other natural phenomena continued on.

Jason lightly flicked his fingers, and the two spheres of condensed air flew towards his assailants. The spheres exploded upon contact, shoving the two titans further away from each other, with both of them groaning, and struggling to get up.

Hyperion's armour was constantly smothered, his fire unable to start, being extinguished as soon as possible the never-ending rainstorm.

Jason waded through the gargantuan clouds of dust, completely encasing himself, placing himself between the two titans.

"I'll finish this now," Jason murmured.

He stood directly in the middle, with the titans on either side, shrouded in dust. Jason pu this hands out on either side, twirling them in a circle twice. This stage was particularly important, it was meant to help control the lightning as it passes through your bod— "Urrgrggrgr."

A dark fist enclosed around Jason's neck, dragging him upwards.

Jason was suspended by his neck, held up in mid-air by Krios, the titan's fist slowly crushing Jason's windpipe.

"What did I say to you last time Jason Grace?" Krios mocked, thoroughly enjoying himself as he saw Jason struggle for any air, his fingers crushing his neck. "This is the end of the road for you. I said I would crush your bones and beat you to a pulp. And that's exactly what's going to happen."

Krios tightened his grip on Jason's neck, and the Son of Jupiter closed his eyes, begging for the sweet release of death.

"ARGHHHH!" Krios screamed, dropping the Son of Jupiter's limp frame. Jason gently fell to the ground, the wind cushioning his fall as he fell down. He slowly massaged his throat, coughing up onto the forest floor. What had made Krios let go of him?

Jason glanced back towards Krios. Golden ichor poured uncontrollably from his navel, which contrasted against the bronze blade protruding from the titan's belly.

The blade was yanked out forcefully, and Krios let out another scream and then was toppled like a bowling pin. The titan laid on the ground, his body convulsing with pain and agony.

"Hey Jason," Percy coolly asked, as if we were just gonna head down to the store and pick up a drink or something."

"Percy, you're alive? They told me you were dead."

"Don't trust them, Jase, they lie. I was hurt bad, like bones broken and everything, but nothing like 15 mins in the rain couldn't fix. That was a good idea by the way.

"Thanks man."

"How about we finish this?" Percy asked, gesturing towards Hyperion's livid face and Krios struggling to get up.

"PERCY JACKSON!" Hyperion bellowed, his eyes glowing with a burning fury.

"Yeah?"

"I will brutally murder you. I will tear you limb from limb. I will turn your innards inside out, and feed them to your corpse."

"How. How would that work exactly?" Percy asked, before turning his head to Jason in a confused, and slightly perturbed manner.

"aRGHH!" Hyperion screamed, before charging brainlessly at Percy. This was foolish, a Percy in the rain was deadlier than Percy without the rain, and Percy without the rain is still extremely deadly.

Percy effortlessly side-stepped the charge, bringing Riptide down in an arc to stop Hyperion's sword from ploughing him straight through. Jason's head was spinning, but he still somehow managed to process everything that was happening.

Percy was rarely taking the offensive, instead waiting for Hyperion to make a move, and then countering the strategy, moving in an opposite direction and putting up walls of water and conjuring up obstacles to wear Hyperion down. It was like an elegant dance, Percy was playing Hyperion like a fiddle, and the howling wind drowned out everything except the noise of their conflict. And the Son of Rome was completely awe-struck by the the Saviour of Olympus' maneuvers, it was inspiring.

 **Jason:**

 _Crack!_

I flipped around immediately, and rolled to my right, bringing my gladius from its sheath.

Krios looked exhausted, his face was gaunt and while the flow of Ichor had stopped, there was a hole in his armour, and he looked like he was about to collapse if someone toppled him over.

Krios was weaker right now, and I had to press my advantage.

I stabbed upward, aiming straight for the hole in Krios' armour, but he read me. Krios brought his sword down in an arc, striking the Imperial Gold and causing my arm to snap back. Perhaps he wasn't as tired as he looked, nevertheless, attack.

I hopped back, searching for an opening, as Krios took the offensive, slashing forward is bloody swathes, searching for a wound that would slow me down. I combated this by keeping my distance, still searching for that opening that would eventually open up, and then I could take the offensive.

That opportunity gifted itself to me, when Krios was far too slow on his slash downwards. The swing came from high above his right shoulder, and swept down to his left knee. It looked like he was going in slow-motion while recovering. I took the opportunity, by summoning the winds, something that was very easy to do in this current moment.

I leapt forward, using the winds to propel me, as I rapidly closed the distance onto his left knee.

I plunged my gladius deep into his knee, and Krios bellowed in agony. Despite this, he somehow didn't thrash out. With his free hand, he grabbed and pulled me back, leaving my sword embedded in a chink in his armour.

I was lifted up, and slammed into the ground with great force. I slipped and slid off of the muddy surface, my armour feeling ten times the weight due to all the mud that has accumulated on its surface.

I backed up even, further, scurrying back as my back began to feverishly ache.

I risked a glance left, and saw Percy moving in on Hyperion, dodging all of Hyperion's strikes, and searching for a way in.

For a moment, Percy and my eyes locked, and he nodded, as if trying to tell me something. But I had genuinely no clue.

I returned my gaze back to Krios. He had kept my gladius embedded in his knee, and I needed to get to it. If I could get past his guard, rip the sword out of his knee, which would temporarily stun him, then get one more good strike in, that would probably finish him.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I saw Percy kiting Hyperion towards me.

Then it hit me.

Take out one of the titans first, then double team the remaining one. I backed up aswell, guiding Krios towards Hyperion, insulting him along the way.

"Come over here, you stupid ram. I heard that sheep were so stupid, does that apply to you? When you get over here, I will break your horn and shove it straight up your nose, you donkey."

Yeah, yeah, not the best, but hey. It got the job done.

Krios roared and charged at me, and Hyperion did the same to Percy. As the titanic creature approached, Percy and I rolled away, causing the brothers to… stop, just before they collided with each other.

"If you collided into me, Krios, I would've killed you right here."

"Hyperion, if we've already spilt the blood of a demigod, why do we even need to kill these two?"

"If you haven't noticed, Krios, they're trying to kill us, and I want to SURVIVE!" Hyperion screamed.

As if on cue, Percy rolled up to me, and moulded the rain around us to form a sharp disc, which we hurled at Hyperion.

The blow caught him full in the stomach, and the titan doubled over.

Percy sent a barrage of these discs, flying, and I aided him, controlling the wind so that it pushed it harder, and faster into Hyperion.

"Percy," I said, "Focus Krios, he'll be easier to take out. Once he's down, we'll get Hyperion."

"Sounds like a plan man."

Despite Percy's best efforts, Krios and Hyperion barreled forward, slicing through the columns of water Percy was conjuring, closing the gap.

Just as they reached us, Percy conjured up a shield, solidifying the water around us, rendering the Titan's attacks useless.

Hyperion raised his sword, and him and Krios struck the same point, at the same time. The water fell to the ground, pooling at our feet, turning the mud even slushier.

I pushed the wet hair from my eyes and running a hand through my hair. It was time.

Percy and I jumped back with the help of the wind, before getting ready to get Krios.

"Percy, ride the winds to Krios. Then we split off Hyperion and kill the Titan of the South."

"3, 2, 1… NOW!" Percy shouted.

I sent a gust of wind our way, and Percy and I rode the wind, shooting towards Krios at breakneck speed.

Percy solidified a fist out of the rainwater, and gestured an uppercut. The watery-fist made solid contact with the underside of Hyperion's jaw, sending the Titan reeling. Percy and I jumped on either side of Krios, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

I had no sword, and I had to get this done.

I lifted both my hands up, and sent them crashing down seconds later, the gesture summoning a bolt of lightning.

The electricity ran through Krios' system, stunning him, if only for a moment, provided us the chance we needed.

Percy ran forward and jumped upwards, latching both his arms around Krios' right hand, immobilizing his sword hand,

The titan began to thrash backwards and forwards, but Percy continued to hold on. Twisting Krios arm sideways, to try and get him to drop the sword.

I dashed forward, jumping forward, using his foot as a jumping pad in order to get to his knee. Once there, in one fluid motion, I yanked the sword from Krios' knee, before propelling myself upwards off of a small indent on his greaves.

I jumped up and stabbed downwards, my gladius making a sickening crunch sound, as the sword passed clean through his right shoulder.

Krios let out a cacophonic scream, and Percy pulled on his shoulder, and Krios collapsed backwards. Percy bailed at the last possible second, leaping from Krios' shoulder.

I rushed forward, cringing slightly, as a ton of mud was displaced by Krios falling and splattered all over my face.

Percy had landed a good ways away, but was clutching ankle, like he had sprained or broken it. I jogged towards him.

"You 'right Perce?"

"Yeah man, just gimme like 3 minutes. It will probably heal with all this rain."

Immediately after, Percy's eyes widened and he pointed behind me.

I spun around, and I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I was flung backwards at a ludicrous speed. I stopped and slid through the mud, coming to a stop after my clothes and armour were given a good soaking.

I looked up in horror, as Percy was tossed around like a ragdoll, in the same manner as me, but worse.

Hyperion had left his sword in his anger, so he couldn't instantly kill Percy, but I needed to help.

I staggered to my feet, my back and legs were absolutely killing me. Yet, I began jogging towards Percy. He said he needed three minutes, I suspect that he may need longer.

"Jason!" I heard a voice scream.

I flipped around, Hazel looked pretty happy to see me, but her face turned to horror when she saw Percy being tossed around like a ragdoll. Annabeth looked terrified, and Reyna worried. They were right on the edge of the circle, about to step in.

"NO!" I screamed, "Don't step in here. If you get hurt, your blood will lead to Tartarus' rise."

I turned around and made a mad dash for Percy, a burst of energy giving me strength.

"Hey! Ugly!" I screamed. Hyperion didn't even acknowledge me. "Catch this then…" I muttered.

I raised both arms across my torso, forming an 'X' across my chest, and then flicking both arms above my heads and slightly behind. Flicking both hands down, and two colossal bolts of lightning struck Hyperion, enough for him to drop Percy, and for Percy to limp away.

The Titan of the East turned around, and gave me a murderous look. The light behind his eyes was almost blinding, despite the downpour, which seemed to have eased.

Hyperion charged blindly at me, his movements, which may have looked cunning and graceful were marred by anger. I pushed at the air, putting distance between me and Hyperion.

Hyperion was blasted in the back, by a high-pressure blast of water, causing him to turn around. Percy was staggering to his feet, the rain was really helping us.

"Jason!" He screamed. "Keep on opposite sides, he can't block us.

Hyperion faced both palms at us, in a sign that said, 'Stop!'

I didn't trust Hyperion, and wondered what he was up to. The Titan's Body began to start glowing, despite the rain. Two five-pronged stars of fire erupted from his palms, the inferno flying towards Percy and I.

I acted on pure instinct, and solidified the air in front of me, trying to create a barrier, like Percy does with water. I braced myself for the worst, fully expecting the fire to engulf me.

But it never came.

A wall of metal was in front of me. I flicked around, and saw Hazel smirking.

"You just said we couldn't enter, not that we couldn't help you."

I nodded, thankful. I glanced backwards, a second later to see Hazel collapse.

The wall of metal collapsed, the precious metals melting and warping.

"Jason, we've got to end this now!" Percy shouted.

To prove his point, he raised both arms behind his back, and summoned all the water he could, which slowly floated together, the different hues of blue blending to form one.

I backed up too, ready to summon as much lightning as I could. Percy blasted the forceful water towards Hyperion, which overpowered Hyperion's blast of fire easily, crashing through it, and turning the surrounding air thick with steam.

Hyperion collided with the forceful water, yet still stood, this was my one and only chance.

I brought both my arms down, twice in a row, ordering the skies to my will, ordering two bolts of lightning down.

Immediately after, two bolts of electricity struck Hyperion's frame. The Titan of the East somehow managed to stand up straight, but his limbs were convulsing uncontrollably, and it looked like a struggle to stay upright.

Percy took the opportunity, bounding towards Hyperion. Using Hyperion's feet and greaves as footholds, Percy scaled up Hyperion, and at the zenith of his jump, drew Riptide and sliced straight down Hyperion's head, splitting the skull into two.

Percy landed on the opposite side, leaning down on his right arm, and leg, before smartly re-attaching the bead to his necklace.

Gold ichor leaked from the corpse of the fallen Titan. I flipped around, seeing Krios, not leaking ichor. Was he dead?

I walked up, and drove my gladius through his eye-socket with unbelievable force.

Hazel materialized behind me, and drove her cavalry sword through the same eye, before stabbing him straight through the head, just to make sure he was dead.

"That one was for Nico," Hazel bitterly replied. The Daughter of Pluto instantly looked at me, tears welling up in her golden eyes. "Where is he?"

My eyes began to moisten, thinking back to Nico. And how his sacrifice was a double-edged sword.

"On the far side of the circle," I choked out. Hazel took off, and I walked towards her.

"Here, Jason," I heard, turning my head around to see Piper offering me some nectar.

"Nah, I probably shouldn't, I've already had so much."

"Probably true," she said, before punching me in the arm.

"Ow," I muttered, rubbing my arm, "That hurt."

"That's for disappearing on us, and fighting two titans, you idiot? What were you thinking?"

"We were teleported here or something, we all passed out and wound up here."

"Huh…" Piper replied, obviously confused.

"It doesn't matter Pipes. We're all, well, not all, but Percy and I are safe. Nico died to save me…" I muttered, turning my head to the ground in shame. "If I had just finished Krios off then, Nico would still be here." Apparently his death in vain, according to Zephyrus.

"Don't beat yourself up about it Jason. You did as much as you could. Nico wouldn't want you to do that."

"Yeah, I should stop, and honour his death," I said, my words feeling empty, devoid of meaning.

"You should," Piper said, before reaching up on her tip-toes and planting a kiss on my forehead. Piper continued forward, while I trudged forward.

"You alright Jason?" Reyna asked comfortingly.

"Yeah Reyna, it's my fault that Nico's dead, and it was all for nothing."

"No, Jason. You said that Tartarus was rising?" She said, changing the topic. That was probably for the best, I had to diverge my mental energy to the upcoming fight; another one. Moping around about Nico was just going to spiral me into a state of depression. Which would be horrid. "Frank and Leo are going to be coming, along with the remainder of the legion."

"You sound awfully calm about Tartarus rising," I skeptically responded.

"I'm so far from calm Jason," Reyna responded, fear tangibly creeping into her tone. "But I've got to stay strong, I've got to lead a legion against an unbeatable foe."

"Hey," I said, comforting Reyna. "You're not leading alone, Frank will be helping you. And Tartarus isn't like Gaia. He is much more beatable."

"Meaning?"

"The whole threat of Gaia was that she couldn't touch the ground. But Tartarus is far from his realm, we don't need to lift him up or anything, just kill him."

"We'll discuss this with the rest," Reyna said, strolling forward towards Percy, Annabeth and Hazel. All of whom were grieving Nico.

 **3** **rd** **Person:**

"Why, why did Nico have to die?" Hazel sobbed, her heart wracked with emotion.

"It'll be fine, Hazel," Annabeth cooed, cradling Hazel's body in her arms.

"Come here Hazel," Percy said, his voice clogged with despair, as Hazel leaned in for a deep embrace, sobbing into Percy's shoulder.

"He was all I had left," Hazel sobbed.

Nico was Hazel's only living relative, and losing that had broken her spirit.

"Hazel," Piper muttered. "Nico sacrificed himself, so that we could win, he died a noble death." Piper was the last person someone expected to say this, and it was fairly obvious that her heart wasn't in it.

"Don't charmspeak me, Piper!" Hazel screamed, tears splashing down onto her face, mixing with the reservoirs of water stuck between the mud.

"I wasn't Hazel," Piper responded, putting her hands in front of her torso, in defeat.

"Fine," Hazel responded, her voice bitter. "Let's kill some monsters, I don't care anymore."

"Hazel," Jason began.

"Don't…" Reyna interrupted. "Just don't Jason. Let her cool off first."

"I feel so guilty, Reyna."

"Stop beating yourself up about it Jason."

"We need a shroud, a shroud for the Son of Hades," Jason called out.

 **Well, its been a while. A year since I've started writing, well, more by now. Sorry for the wait, Writers Block is very hard to deal with, and I've been struggling for ideas. Hope this chapter was good enough. Again, sorry.**

 **Thanks,**

 **~RedGods**


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